Best Friend to Instructor
by dhphg0201
Summary: How would things have been if Tris and Tobias had been friends before switching to Dauntless? How would Tris feel when he transferred? What would unfold as their relationship progressed? A look at how things could have been if they had met before Dauntless. Fist attempt as FanFic! Enjoy! Please rate and review!
1. Chapter 1

I'm staring at my empty lunch box, again. This is the third day in a row that an Erudite boy demanded for my lunch. Of course, I have to give it to him. It's the Abnegation thing to do but why do I feel…I don't know. I don't feel like that was selfless. Ever since that new lady that daddy talks about at dinner came into office, the Erudite kids are mean to the Abnegation. I never say anything; it's not my place. Not to mention I'm not allowed to. The ways and morals of my faction have been branded into my skull since the day I was born. For nine years I have lived selflessly. And I don't feel like I belong. I can never express myself. I'm nine years old and I want to have fun. I want a friend.

Glancing around the cafeteria with its dingy tiled floors and food stained walls, I see the boy who took my food talking to his friend, still staring at me, but not unaware that I can hear everything he's saying. He looks annoyed as he flips his hair out of his eyes.

"…Justin I'm just saying, you're taking advantage her, you're fifteen, she's nine and I mean _look_ at her, she needs the food more than most of the stiffs."

So _that's _the nickname they give us. I don't like it. I don't want to be associated with that name. But I don't let myself dwell too long on it, I want to hear what this Justin guy has to say.

"Dude, what _you_ need to realize is that she can't say no. I can get whatever I damn well please and she cant even argue. You heard what Jeanine said, they pretend to run the government but they have no idea what we really need. All they do is give handouts to the factionless taking food from _us _andI bet they don't even do that. They probably keep the food to themselves_._" Looking around I see that he has attracted a lot of attention, but not the bad kind. Several others from Erudite are nodding their heads in agreement, looking superior and snooty as they read their tatty books.

Looking around all I feel is anger; if I was older I'd argue with them, but then again…that's not the Abnegation thing to do. I wish I could. One more reason why I don't belong. It's really no surprise to me, I never sit with the other kids my age and I don't talk to anyone, afraid to give too much away. No one should know anything about anyone in Abnegation. It's rude, or so I've been told. Could I belong with another faction? I don't know.

I'm startled out of my thoughts quickly, surprised, as a boy in Abnegation gray comes and sits down right next to me, the chair squealing sharply across the tile floor. What is he doing? He's tall, has dark brown hair and deep blue eyes. Something about them is sad and reserved, but so alive too. I feel like I've seen him, but where? I can't help but notice the wince that appears on his face as he gingerly sits down. Odd.

"Would you like to share my lunch?" he asks. And for a minute, I'm angry. I don't want handouts. I am not weak. I can handle going without lunch no matter how hungry I am. Before I can say anything he raises his hands into the air in a placating gesture and quickly adds: "I brought two today. I know I'm not supposed to," I cant help but notice how his face grows fearful, as if he worries someone will know. Why would he be scared about adding another lunch to his bag? My parents would encourage it, "but I thought that if they went after you again I could at least help. I'm Tobias by the way. Tobias Eaton."

Taking his standard Abnegation lunch, I gently bow my head, the standard gesture of greeting in our faction. For a couple minutes he stares at me expectantly. Huh? It takes a few moments to realize I haven't said anything. I haven't even introduced myself so I quickly speak up.

"I'm Beatrice Prior. Thank you Tobias." It all comes out in a rush, unable to conceal my embarrassment. "How old are you Beatrice?" he asks me.

I'm stunned. In Abnegation we don't ask questions. But I respond quickly, anxious to figure out if he's like me. If he feels like he doesn't belong in Abnegation.

"I'm nine years old. How old are you? I haven't seen you in any of my classes. Actually, I can't remember seeing you back in Abnegation"

His eyes suddenly look…hurt? What did I say? "I'm eleven. I'm not allowed out of the house much. My dad wont let me go, not that I'd be able to anyway." Shocked at what he says he quickly changes the subject as if he said something he shouldn't. Weird. Is his dad the reason he's upset?

"Anyway, my dad works with your dad so I've seen you, but only from a distance. You don't act like the other Abnegation kids."

Wait, what? How can he tell? What have I done? I mean, sure, I'm confused but I felt that I hid my selfishness almost perfectly. My brother Caleb, he's the selfless one. Always acting perfect as he strolls down the grey housed streets of the Abnegation sector, always doing for others. I envy him. So how does Tobias know? As I respond I feel my face flush, the embarrassment and shock clear in my features.

"H-How do…I mean what?" I am at a loss for words and honestly, I'm panicking. _How could he tell?_

As If able to read my mind Tobias fills in the blanks.

"How can I tell? Well, for one you don't cower and dodge everyone here like the other kid, you don't make a conscious effort to blend in. You're too alert. Second, from the times I've seen you at school, I can tell that you observe the other faction kids more than anyone else and, like me, you often sit alone at lunch. But you hide everything very well"

He's rambling. He's rambling as if trying to make me feel better. But if he's noticed all of that then he must be pretty observant too.

"Can you keep a secret Beatrice?"

"Yes." I respond quickly.

Leaning in closer, eyes dancing, Tobias whispers: "I don't want to be in Abnegation either. And I think we are going to be fast friends."

And with that the bell rings, signaling the end of lunch and cutting my first real conversation short. I have known Tobias for all of twenty minutes and I already know more about him than any other kid I've met. Friends. It's a nice word to hear.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Divergent and any of the characters. **

**This chapter is pretty long and the story will pick up faster after this chapter. Hope you enjoy reading! Don't forget to review!**

**Enjoy!**

The rest of the day passed in a blur. It wasn't long before I found myself walking outside to go home, the sun soaking through the fabric of my dress and warming my skin. The day was beautiful, signs of the coming summer everywhere. The sky was a bright shade of blue, birds were singing and the increasing heat brought the wildflowers and foliage on the long deserted buildings to life. Everything was thriving.

As I walked towards the bus to at least _try_ to get a seat to go back to the Abnegation sector I felt a tap on my shoulder. Immediately, I tensed, partly because we don't touch in Abnegation but mostly because I was anticipating yet another Erudite kid there to try to break my well practiced façade of selflessness. As I turned around, all of the tension left my body as I realized it was only Tobias. _Thank God. _I was in no mood to deal with another brainiac kid.

"Oh, wipe that hostile look off your face Beatrice, it's just me here," Tobias laughed, eyebrow raised as he appraised my standoffish posture. I immediately sagged back into my formerly relaxed state, and for the first time, I could finally take in his whole appearance. He was strong, even for an eleven year old, and by the look of his clothing he had recently gone through a growth spurt. I'd noticed before that he was taller than the other boys his age but, standing here now, I realized that he was built more like a thirteen or fourteen year old than an eleven year old. He had a strong jaw, hooked nose and a spare upper lip but, again, I was drawn to his eyes. A truly unique shade of blue that held so much emotion behind them. His eyes looked like he had experienced and been through much more than the average eleven year old would. I mean, I know he has. It must be hard to lose your mother at such a young age. Needless to say, I was excited to see him. I hadn't found any real companionship in Abnegation besides Robert, but we were polite and saw more of each other mostly because his sister Susan and my brother were so close.

"Ha-ha very funny Tobias. How did the rest of your day go? Not too tiring?" I queried, nervously running my fingers along the hem of my shirt. We are talking freely outside in front of the other kids, hopefully no one over hears us talking. "It wasn't too bad, the day went by fast for me. I had a test in History of Factions at the end of the day. Have fun when you take that class in two years," he added sarcastically. I always hated history. I started taking it two years ago, one history for each faction, excluding our own. We would learn about that in History of Factions.

"Oh my God I hate history, don't remind me I have to sit through that. At least they rely on the Erudite to answer any questions." I huff. We were almost to the bus at this point but with the amount of kids already on board and the amount of kids from the other factions trying to get on, it looked like we'd be taking a walk through the Factionless sector. Being Abnegation, even as young as we are, it is the "selfless" thing to do to allow other to take the bus. Great.

It looks like Tobias was thinking the same thing. Suddenly he stops in his tracks and spins on his heel to face me. "I apologize that I kept you behind talking, it looks like we lost our seats on the bus," he says. He looks apologetic. We both know that it will take at least an hour before we get back when, on the bus, it would have taken about fifteen minutes. But with the weather, I'm more than happy to walk. I do it all the time anyway.

"It's really no problem. I love to walk and the weather today is gorgeous. It'll give me an excuse to stay outside." I smile up at him, squinting my eyes in the sunlight beating down. "Good. And you know what that means? We'll have more time to finish that conversation from lunch! Besides, walking out here is better than being stuffed up against all the other kids on the bus."

I look up at him questioningly. The other kids never bothered me. With his eerie ability to read my thoughts Tobias adds, "Personal space issues. I need room to breathe." Ahh, I guess that makes sense. Too many people crowding a space. Everyone has some sort of pet peeve.

Turning away from the school, we make our way across the broken pavement that makes up the streets of the city, picking out the streets that lead to the Factionless sector and, eventually, home. For the first few minutes we enter into a comfortable silence, taking turns kicking an empty glass bottle back and forth, laughing when it shatters up against a wall when Tobias gives it an extra hard shove with his toe. Thinking back to earlier at lunch, questions start to form in my mind. I knew he was Marcus' son, but I'd never seen where they lived. I saw all the other kids out doing various things, mostly charity, but I never saw him.

"Tobias, where do you live? I feel like I see the other kids out delivering food to the Factionless and doing other things with their parents but I don't see you. Are you on the other side of the sector?" I know I'm being overly curious but I don't care. We already established that we don't belong, so why pretend? Since I haven't seen him around, I figured that after his mother died, he and his father moved to the section for couples, singles or the elderly.

"I actually live next door to you," ignoring my surprised stare I shot him he continues, "but I don't help deliver the food to the Factionless, my dad wont let me go the center where the food is delivered. He says to only go by the small area we walk through from school, on the very outskirts of the Factionless sector. Most of my time I spend sorting the food to take to them. Substituting one for the other. I still help them, but from Abnegation."

"Really? Then maybe you've seen my mom. She's constantly helping sort food and every once in a while she'll make some banana bread to take to them. I always help make it but I never get to taste it."

"Yea, I see her in there occasionally. I'm not there much but when I am there, she often is too. Can I ask you a question Beatrice?"

"Of course."

"If you could transfer to another faction, where would you go? I know you feel like you don't belong here, and we both have a while to think about it, but if you had the option, which would you choose?"

I have to think about this. From what I've learned about everything, I _know _I wouldn't choose Erudite but between the other three? I look up at Tobias, seeing the obvious excitement on his face that probably mirrors my own. _I've known him for all of one day and I know him so much better than anyone else. And I can trust him._

"Thinking about it I wouldn't choose Erudite. But I've always admired the Dauntless, there's something interesting about them that I think I could love, a sense of freedom that I want."

As I say this, a smile creeps across his face. "I couldn't agree more. When I turn sixteen I want to go there. I want freedom. Heck, I don't even know what I like to do here." Looking at me, I see an idea come across his features. At this point on our journey home we are just passed the outskirts of the Factionless, an expansive field fresh with wildflowers expands in front of us, showing us that we aren't far from Abnegation.

"What if everyday on our way home, we played a game? Maybe talked more? Figure out what we like to do. Then maybe, when we're a little older, prepare for Dauntless. If you want to transfer too, that is. What do you say?"

The hope and excitement radiates off of him. He really wants this. _I want this._ This could be fun. With a grin of my own I almost squeal back at him, "I would love that!" Having something to do and someone to talk to? I couldn't be happier. Its not fun being a kid with no friends. Welcome to Abnegation.

We race to the edge of the field, stopping only when Abnegation comes into view. Stifling our laughter we walk, at an appropriate distance mind you, side by side down our street. Reaching my house we say our goodbyes, bowing to each other in the appropriate manner. I watch as Tobias reluctantly walks next door, entering his home and waves to me from his small front porch. Our parents wont be home for another hour since there was a meeting with Amity and, keeping with our rotation, I start fixing dinner. As I place the chicken on the stove I can't help but think back on the day and all that we have planned. _I can't wait to see what the next few years bring. _I couldn't be more excited.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Divergent or any of its characters.**

**Good news, I had a lot of extra time this week so here is another chapter! Spring break is glorious. Enjoy reading! **

The next morning went by in a blur. I woke up before my alarm clock, whether out of excitement or plenty of sleep, I'm not sure. As per usual, Caleb and I rode to school with Susan and Robert. As a representative for Erudite, their father has the privilege of driving a car and every morning he offers us a ride to school. On the way there, I constantly have to remind myself to not show much emotion today. It wouldn't do well for a young Abnegation girl, let alone a leader's daughter, to draw attention to herself. _Blend in. You can do it for a few hours. _

By the time lunch rolls around, I am both nervous and excited. Nervous because, well, I'd like to eat today and excited because I get to see Tobias. I look around the sparsely decorated room and even here, the factions separate. In the front left corner sit the Dauntless students, the front right the Erudite. In the back sit the Abnegation and the Candor, closest to the windows. As I walk over to my usual table, I sense rather than see Tobias creep up beside me. Just as I'm about to turn and speak to him I feel something slip into my palm.

As I look down I see…money? Why is he giving me this? "Go and buy yourself a lunch and I'll hide the one you brought from home," Tobias whispers into my ear. I giggle at the feeling that his breath leaves on my neck but do as he says. Here at school all the kids get a school lunch, but being Abnegation we don't want the cafeteria staff to make "extra meals" so we bring our own lunches. On occasion, a couple of us will purchase our lunch, often times as a result of our families giving our own personal food to someone more needy. My paying them is a thank you.

I haven't even reached my table before that same kid from yesterday grabs my arm to stop me. _Jeremy right? _"Here's my favorite Stiff! You know, I can't use any points I've earned to get my lunch today, why don't you let me have yours? And since you bought one, must mean that you gave everything away at home too," he sneers as he gives me a once over, "It's a good thing you Stiffs don't care." And with that he takes my tray and plops back into his chair as I weave my way back to Tobias, staring at the specked tile floor the whole way. _Don't attract too much attention._

"You know," Tobias says with disgust as I sit down, "you're not the only one they do that too. Look around; half of our faction isn't eating anything. But here? We have food thanks to my epic hiding skills." He winks as he throws our lunch bags on the table, diving into his chicken sandwich and carrots. With his mouth full he adds, "And it's not like they even _eat_ any of it. They just throw it away."

"You know what I've noticed," I say as I scan the cafeteria, "It's only the younger Abnegation like us that they do it to. I mean, seriously. Look over there; all of the Abnegation older than thirteen is fine. It's like they are testing us."

"And we, dear Beatrice, are outsmarting them." Tobias smiles as he taps his sandwich against mine. True, if anything it's further proof that we don't belong in Abnegation. Thinking about ourselves, all while trying to outsmart Erudite. For some weird reason, it makes me smile. While I love what we are doing, I let my mind wander and I cant help but be worried that this wont work for too long. Glancing at the faction symbols painted above the cafeteria windows I voice my concerns.

"Hopefully this little diversion system you have will work for a while. At some point they're bound to notice, but hopefully not for a while."

"Hmm, let's say that if and when they do, we eat on our walk home, prolong the journey per se. How's that?" Tobias responds, deep in thought.

"Sounds like a good plan to me," I smile, "Oh! Thank you for the money by the way. Please let me pay you back. My father gave me a little this morning. He heard some about what's been happening from Caleb so I had it just in case." As I say this I hastily reach for my pocket, digging for the money my father gave me. Just as I'm about to grab it I feel a warm hand wrap around my wrist, pulling my empty hand out of my pocket.

"Beatrice, no. I don't want you to pay me back," I try to protest but he keeps going, "It's fine. Really. Rather than making me anything this morning my dad left some money on the counter for me to buy a lunch today. And with our little scheme…I think it came in handy." He smiles, letting go of my hand. Seeing that arguing with him is pointless, I drop the subject.

"Thank you. You didn't have to do that." I whisper, unable to really say any more. What is the appropriate response when someone pays for your lunch?

"I know. But I wanted to." He smiles at me and I can tell he's happy that I let him do something like that. "Anyway, I was wondering, do you want to take a longer route home? I know our parents won't be back till after dinner and it'll give us some extra time to be us before we have to blend back in."

"Oh? Sure! But there's a longer route? I've always taken the same one home. How did you find it?" I'm a little confused, how is there another way to get back? Count me in. _Adventure number one._

"Actually I found it by accident. One day last year I really didn't want to go home and I just felt like walking; there's more freedom outside the house. Rather than going the usual way, I walked around that old Hancock building and found a path near the train tracks. Well, it stays by them for a little ways but it eventually veers back to the field before Abnegation. And, there are a couple of stray apple trees. It's weird to see outside of the Amity orchards, but the fruit is really good."

"Sounds perfect." The bell ringing interrupts my thoughts but before I head back to class I turn to Tobias. "Meet you out front after school?"

"Sounds great to me." He responds. With a smile and a wave we head our separate ways, both excited for the walk home.

At ten past three, I walk out into the bright sunshine. Tobias is already waiting for me and, as if he can sense that I'm there, he turns and with a crooked smile, beckons me to follow him. Sneaking around to the back of the school, we make our way to a deserted street that leads to the Hancock building.

Craning my neck, I look up trying to see the top. It has got to be the highest building in the city. Very faintly, I see a cord that starts at the top and gets lower until it's about twenty feet above the ground. At the end, there's a harness. Zip lining? _Must be Dauntless._

"Tobias, you see that cord? I think that's what the Dauntless kids were talking about. Zip lining, right?" Glancing over at him, I watch his eyes as they take in the scene. Hand scratching the back of his neck, he takes a gulp, as if he's nervous but still responds, "Yea, I think that's right. Gosh, its so _high._"

We turn past the building as we talk and in the distance I can see the tracks, a train just coming into view. Pulling me to a stop Tobias whispers for me to watch. I look as the train slows and several Dauntless jump on, no doubt headed for their compound. "It's so…_graceful_. I wonder how difficult it is to do that," I say as I glance over at Tobias, who is equally mesmerized. "I know. Every time I come this way I'm fascinated. Not only by how they do that but that they all seem fearless, like they don't have a care in the world. They're all so strong, lethal. You know, in a few years _that_ could be us."

Wow. Thinking about it gives me goose bumps. How can watching them jump on a train make me jealous? They're so free. I wouldn't understand that. Hopefully I will someday. For now, I need to at least pretend to fit in, like I always have. Smiling down at me, Tobias starts to lead the way home. There is a slight breeze today, but thankfully the buildings block most of its force. Still, up ahead my eye catches something rolling across the road, no doubt being pushed by the breeze. Jogging ahead of me, Tobias stoops down and picks it up.

"This, Beatrice, I believe is called a basketball. I see the Dauntless kids with them in class. Watch this," he says. Quickly, he bounces it on the pavement and looks around. His eyes catch sight of a nearby aluminum trashcan and he throws the ball. It misses, hitting the wall behind the can but rolls back to us. "Here, you try it. Aim for the can, we can only get better with practice."

Grinning, I take the ball, and copying what he just did, I aim and throw. Darn. Not even close. For a few minutes we take turns, stopping only when we've both made it into the can. At the same time we pipe up, "We should hide this somewhere for another day." Laughing at the fact we had the same idea, we look at each other and stash it in a nearby pipe, hidden from view. You'd have to look hard to find it. It's the perfect spot.

Realizing the time, we pick up our pace a little from the relaxed, leisurely one we had set. Neither one of us wanted to go home. Glancing ahead, I see what he meant about the path arching back toward the field, I see it in the distance, grass swaying in the breeze. But that's not what catches my eye. To my left I see two lone trees and a few bushes. No doubt from an old orchard. Grinning at Tobias, I run over to them, noticing the fruit starting to ripen. _Oh boy. _

"It's too bad the apples aren't in season yet. You'll love them. And the best part is, no one comes back here so we can have all we want," Tobias says, making me laugh as he rubs his hands together, licking his lips in the process. I look towards the ground, for the first time noticing the strawberry bushes. _Strawberries. I've always wanted one. _

"Have you ever had a strawberry Tobias?"

"Nope. Always wanted one though. Wait, there's a strawberry bush? Are they ripe yet? Oh my god." He says as he stoops to inspect the bush. "Darn, not quite. But in a few weeks we can add these to our lunch. Geez I am so excited."

Getting back on his feet Tobias looks at the sky and sighs, "We better go if we want to eat dinner and get back before our parents do."

Unfortunately I have to agree with him. "You're probably right. Let's head back." Taking my arm in his we start to make our way across the field back to Abnegation. "Thank you for today Beatrice, I had a lot of fun. Boy, that sounds weird. _Fun._" He chuckles as we reach the outskirts of the faction. "I agree, that was wonderful," I smile at him. It really was a perfect afternoon. A rebellious afternoon.

"See you tomorrow?" He asks me as we part ways.

"Absolutely."


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Divergent or any of the characters**

**I would have had this up yesterday but…let's be serious, the Divergent premiere came first. It's movie weekend! Have fun watching and I hope you enjoy the new chapter! **

_6 weeks later _

I try to hide the bounce in my step as I weave my way through the Abnegation sector on my way to school. Everyone is going about their normal everyday routine of waking up and preparing for the day. For some, that means going to work in the main government building and, for others, that means volunteering around the city.

As hard as I try, I can't keep the smile off my face. _Today is the last day of the school year. _The pestering Erudites have had their choosing ceremony. Thank goodness they're gone. Waiting to eat lunch until the trip home was a lot harder than we bargained for. _Summer is finally here_.

Ordinarily, I wouldn't be too excited about it. Abnegation summers are nothing like the summers of the other faction kids. While they get to have fun and sleep in, it is our duty to wake up early and go into the city to volunteer and hand out food and clothing to the Factionless. But this year, I could care less. Tobias and I both signed up to assist in the same areas: the sorting center, the hospital and Amity. As long as we are together, we won't feel stifled and I have no doubt that we can make it fun.

We've learned a lot about each other in the last six weeks. He's learned all about my family, how we operate. He's learned how my mother will go out of her way to help the Factionless, even making banana bread. He's learned how my father runs the house and work and how Caleb is the perfect child. I have no doubt that he can clearly see the frustration on my face when I vent about my lack of ability to conceal and blend in alongside Caleb. He's also learned, well, decided rather, that I'm stubborn and opinionated. No argument there. He couldn't be more right. It's so hard to not be able to speak my mind half of the time. It's nice to have someone who's there, who understands.

I learned a lot about him too. He never talks about his family. _More like he won't. It's like pulling teeth to get any information._ When he's around the faction he's more stoic, like he doesn't want to let anyone in, or give anything away. More so than anyone else. But around me that melts. He smiles and laughs. Like me, he likes control and adventure. We both want control of our lives, but that will just have to wait. He wasn't kidding about having personal space issues. He avoids tight alleyways, crowded busses and anything with close quarters. Just the other week we accidentally shot the basketball we found into a dumpster. He visibly relaxed when I ran to get it, hoisting me up to see over the metal ledge to grab it.

What I was most surprised to find out was his fear of heights. I don't even think _he_ knew. It was just two days ago and we were planning on climbing the apple trees after feasting on the strawberries we'd found.

Flashback:

"_Oh my god! That was so good!" Tobias exclaimed, thumping his full belly like a melon, sighing in contentment. "I don't think I could eat another bite. At least I shouldn't. "Opening one eye, he peeked over at me, still working on, what I decided, would be my final strawberry. _

"_Oh really?" I laugh sarcastically, "I know you Tobias; I really think you could eat more. Easily." I chuckled in response, moving my attention back to discarding the remainder of my strawberry. He could really pack away some food. Whatever I didn't eat, he gladly finished. "No, no way. I need to find a way to work this out of my system. I'm _stuffed." _Glancing my way, I see an idea spark behind his eyes, "How about we see who can climb the highest on those trees, hmm? You game Beatrice?" Heck yes! He should know by now that I am up for anything. Although not much has changed on our daily walks, he knew I'd always accept a challenge. Game on. _

"_You should really know by now that I'm up for any challenge." I replied with a devilish grin. I am so going to win this thing. For once, my tiny frame works to my advantage. "Alright! Let's go." Offering me his hand, Tobias pulls me up and we head over to the now, almost ripe, apple trees, both dead set on winning. Two stubborn fools._

_At first, Tobias is ahead of me, using his long legs to gain height but soon, I've over taken his position, rapidly gaining height and leaving him in the dust. Pausing, I look down to the tree beside me and I see Tobias, seemingly frozen to his current branch. He's only about ten feet off the ground, his fists are clenched tight, his knuckles white, holding on for dear life. Looking at his face he looks nauseous and if I'm not mistaken, scared? _

"_You okay down there Tobias?" I question, my tone dripping with concern. What is wrong with him? "Uhh yea, I'm just…just going to go back down." His response comes out more as a whisper but it's still just loud enough for me to hear it. "Are you sure?" I ask, quickly descending my own apple tree. "You look a little pale. Not too fond of heights huh?" _

"_I guess not. I didn't exactly relish in being that high off the ground. Meanwhile, what were _you _doing so high?! That's not human. What if you fell?" Glancing up at him, I'm greeted with a vacant expression as he looks off in the distance, deep in thought. As if seeing something horrible, his body shivers and his eyes meet mine, coming back into the now. Breaking out of his reverie, he grins my favorite grin and says, "I have an idea. How about, in the future, when the apples are ripe, you can be the one to climb and I can act as, hmm…act as your "body guard" so to speak? That way I can catch you if you fall."_

_We start walking again, noting the sun low on the horizon. Turning to him, arms crossed, and my eyebrow raised I respond, "What makes you think I'll fall? Or better yet, what if I fall and you _can't _catch me?" Laughing at my signature, defensive and determined look, Tobias slings his arm around my shoulder and says, "I'm not doubting your ability Beatrice. I just want you safe. And besides, I would never not catch you. I will always be there to catch you when you fall, that's a promise." Smiling, happy with his response, I slide further under his arm, wrapping my own around his waist. When we're alone, we have a casualness about touching, holding hands to navigate rough terrain, or walking like this. When touching, or even talking isn't encouraged in Abnegation, it's nice to have something like this, a best friend who can comfort you with a simple touch or smile._

As per usual, I'm taken out of my thoughts by none other than Tobias himself as he comes up beside me, stealthily elbowing my side, letting me know it's him. I quickly realize that my thoughts have taken me almost the whole way to school. "Are you going deaf over there Beatrice?" He laughs. "I've been calling your name for the last three minutes." Glancing up at him, I see his face filled with humor as I use my eyes to block the morning sun from my vision. "No, just daydreaming. Are you ready for the transition tonight?" I ask.

Every year we have what is called the transition. It's about the closest thing that Abnegation has to a party. The whole faction comes together and, in a way, prepares for summer, celebrating the heat and extra helping hands. The students however, are told of any changes that might occur during the next school year, which mostly involve the ten and twelve year olds. This year, that means both Tobias and me. We move up in school. His courses and responsibilities change as do mine, signaling and preparing us for the impending choosing ceremony that is still years away.

"Sure. Nothing like a good transition to kick off the summer." I smile, picking up on the sarcasm. Neither one of us is very excited but, as Abnegation children, no, as Abnegation _leaders _children, we need to be there and put on the perfect faces. "Don't worry," I laugh, "I'm sure we can find some sort of way to make it secretly fun."

Walking into the school, we quickly rearrange our expressions, blending in with the other Abnegation children, our conversation from seconds ago evaporating. As the bell rings, Tobias turns to me one last time asking, "See you at lunch?" I smile, "Do you even have to ask? Of course." Bowing appropriately, we head our separate ways, preparing to trudge through the first half of our days until we can relax around each other again. _After today, that's over. After today, we have two months of being ourselves. Summer, what a beautiful thing._


	5. Chapter 5

**So I know some of you are wondering when I will be getting to Dauntless and what I plan to cover. At least for now, the plan is to use this chapter (its a lot longer! Like just over 5000 words) and the very beginning of the following one to cover the summer as they really learn more about each other and then I want to cover major events like preparing to transfer, Tris learning about Marcus and then the choosing ceremonies. I want to develop their friendship just a little more before jumping in to Dauntless and her initiation. I will be skipping forward weeks, sometimes months. It all depends. So, probably 3 more chapters before Dauntless. **

**With that said, I love your reviews. They all put a smile on my face! I hope you enjoy reading! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Divergent or any of the characters.**

As I walk towards the entrance of the school at the end of the day I almost can't contain my excitement. The year is over and while for the summer Tobias and I have to volunteer, at least we'll be together. Unfortunately, this afternoon Tobias and I have to head straight back to the sector because of the Transition this evening. While we'll still get to talk, we won't be able to relax and enjoy being free for a little while. But I don't worry about it; there will be plenty of time for all of that this summer.

Pushing the front door of the school open, I walk into quite the unexpected surprise. I immediately see Tobias, but in front of him stand not only my father, but his as well. _Uh oh. Do they know what we've been up to these past few weeks? Why are they here? How much trouble will we be in? _Just as my thoughts are running away with me, my father spots me in the crowd and smiles. Tentatively, I head over to them, unable to mask my expression of nervousness and anxiety. I look to Tobias for any indication as to what is going on but all seems fine as he subtly moves to stand between his father and me.

Bowing in greeting, I acknowledge Marcus and look towards my father as he starts to speak. "Beatrice, I trust that your last day of the year went well today?" I almost respond as I usually do with Tobias, telling him everything from general observations to things that frustrated me but I quickly pull myself back, responding as a polite Abnegation girl should. "I went well father, thank you. I hope your trip into the city didn't inconvenience you." _Why are they here? _"No, not at all. Marcus and I had a meeting with Erudite today and decided to make the journey home with you as it is your last day." How does he do this so well? I find it almost impossible to remain so civil, polite and _formal._ There is no relaxed posture in any conversation the Abnegation have. No wonder we were nicknamed "Stiff".

Glancing in Marcus' direction, my father adds, "Marcus and I both noticed that you and Tobias had signed up for the same areas of volunteer work for the summer and knew that you both had never been acquainted. This is as good a time as any to introduce the two of you. You will be spending a lot of time with each other. Beatrice, this is Tobias Eaton." Turning to face Tobias, I stifle a laugh at the introduction, having to pretend I've never seen him. I see the same look mirrored in his eyes but also relief. _They have no idea._ I bow. "It's nice to meet you Tobias."

"Likewise," Tobias says as he bows in return, hiding a smile of his own. Once "introductions" were made, Marcus starts to usher us all to the bus, noting the time and need to return to the faction. Unlike most days, the bus isn't crowded. Almost every student took the time to walk today, enjoying the summer breeze, the wild foliage and the freedom of summer. My father enters the bus first, followed by myself. As I take the first step into the bus, behind me I hear Marcus speak in a cold, calculated voice whispering to Tobias. "Don't you _dare _speak unless spoken to tonight, understood? Do not put a toe out of line." Tobias stays silent, boarding the bus and sitting next to me. _What was that about? _

Did my father overhear that? I doubt it. Since I was little he has always taught me to tune out private family conversations. It's the courteous thing to do. I was never good at it and, as of lately, it's almost impossible to do so. I'm entirely too curious, at least to Abnegation standards.

Now, sitting here, I can feel the tension radiating off of Tobias but I don't say a word, it's not in keeping with our faction. _Don't pry, _I have to remind myself.Still, I try to make him feel better by subtly elbowing his side. At this his lips quirk up just slightly, his posture slowly relaxing. At least it worked. Needless to say, it was a silent ride home.

BREAK

The transition last night was as eventful as an Abnegation gathering could be. Naturally, there was little to no conversing between people as it is considered selfish to talk about yourself but our leaders laid out the plans for the summer neatly for everyone. This year the gathering was only marginally better for Tobias and me. As per usual, the ten and twelve year olds were pulled aside and told what to expect in the coming school year. At ten years old, I move up in school and, as a twelve year old, so does Tobias. All we were told was to prepare for more strenuous coursework as we continue to get closer to our aptitude tests, which, to me, feel so far away.

Before the gathering ended, we were shown our schedules for the next thirteen weeks that told each of us what we would be doing. Each volunteer station is divided into intervals of four weeks. At the end of the summer, on the final week, we each get to decide which station we would prefer to return to. Most will choose based on the greatest need; however, I feel as though Tobias and I will pick based on where we feel the most freedom to relax, if any of the three make us feel as such.

As I walk toward the bus station I look at my paper again. For the first four weeks, Tobias and I will be volunteering at the hospital, assisting in anything that we're asked to do by nurses and staff. Following our time here, we are to work in the sorting center. I'm not sure how this will work because as I look closer, it does not escape my notice that my mother will be assisting us for the majority of the time. I don't know if this will pose any problems but, nevertheless, Tobias and I always manage to work around our obstacles. We've gotten really sneaky.But then again, we've had to be. It wouldn't do too well for anyone to know about our distaste for Abnegation, especially our parents. Amity is last on our list and I feel like it will be the most enjoyable. It'll be great to be outside for the remainder of the summer and working with the orchards means that no one else will be around, allowing us the freedom to converse and have a good time.

Arriving at the station, I see that most of today's volunteers are already here but I still don't see Tobias. To my right is Susan, Robert's sister. I figured she would be here. Since we were little girls I have always been able to see that she is Abnegation to her core. It was only last year that I saw her passion for helping the sick or wounded. She's found where she belongs and I'm happy for her.

I sense rather than see Tobias come up beside me. I'm tempted to ask him what that exchange with his father was about yesterday but I brush it off. It was probably nothing and I shouldn't worry. Turning to face him, I smile, glad that I'm not alone today, that even though we're volunteering, we can spend time together. I notice that he looks tired, no doubt from having to wake up so early. The city is still sleeping, the morning dew fresh. The only signs of life are the Abnegation preparing to start the day and the sun as it rises over the horizon.

"Good morning," Tobias yawns, "Sleep well?" He adds, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. I laugh at his obvious distain for waking up at an ungodly hour. Tobias is clearly _not_ a morning person and neither am I. "As well as I could, having to wake up so early." I respond grumpily.

I check around me quickly as I say this, needing to make sure we're out of earshot from everyone else. We have to be careful this summer so we won't attract attention, something easy to do in Abnegation. Looking back at him, I see the bags under his eyes and I say, "I take it you didn't? Don't think I wont pinch you or something to wake you up."

"No, not really and I don't doubt that you would. But no worries, the bus ride always wakes me up." He's right. From experience, I know it's not pleasant taking the bus down the road to the hospital. There's broken, jagged pavement everywhere and the bumps alone will send you flying into someone else's lap if you're not careful.

Turning to my left, I see the bus turn the corner, the sound of the engine breaking through the quiet morning air. In all, there are ten of us volunteering for the first part of the summer so there are plenty of open seats for us to sit down as we board. Naturally, Tobias and I sit side by side, using the bars on the backs of the seats in front of us to keep us from flying into the air as we make the short trip to the hospital.

Upon arrival we are given our assignments and, much to my dismay, every single one of us is in a different section of the hospital, only coming together for lunch in the early hours of the afternoon. Luckily, I wasn't assigned to any ward that housed the sick. Rather, I help the nurses deal with the patients who have broken bones and those who needed x-rays. I had to stifle a laugh at Tobias' assignment. The nursery. The thought of seeing Tobias handling babies, _newborn _babies makes me laugh. He's so _masculine, _especially for a twelve year old_. _Before we headed our separate ways, I heard him mutter something about hoping to only have paperwork and being scared to drop someone's kid. That only made me laugh harder.

BREAK

Lunch was at one and as everyone entered I could see that it had already been a trying day for all of us. Although no one complained, I mean, who would? It is Abnegation. Regardless, the signs were clear. The only one who looked unaffected by hospital life was, of course, Susan. Derek, one of Abnegation's older members, looked like he'd seen a ghost. Obviously helping out in the blood labs wasn't working out too well for him. Squeamish, _figures._ Alison, a member in her twenties looked scarred, obviously feeling like she had intruded on someone's privacy as she helped the nurses with catheters and bedpans. The other volunteers all had varying looks of exhaustion after dealing with the hustle and bustle of doctors and nurses running everywhere.

The lunchroom was filled with tables that could seat four so, as a result, we were spread across the room to eat where we desired. I spotted Tobias at a more secluded table, out of earshot of the others. _Good plan._

As I approached him, I noticed that the events of the morning had gotten to him too. He sat, elbows on the table with his head in his hands, rubbing his face as if he was trying to get something out of his mind. As I pulled out my chair, it screeched across the floor making him jump and look at me with wide, surprised and partially crazed eyes.

"Rough morning?" I asked as I sat down. I understand his stress. I think back to one of the patients coming in for x-rays. I had to deliver the scans to the doctor but I will never forget the _very _clearly broken ankle he had, just the thought of it makes me lose my appetite. _I didn't think helping in x-rays would be so graphic._

"You could say that. I swear, I've been out of that room for an hour and my ears are still ringing. When you pulled your chair out I thought it was a baby. God, I will never get that sound out of my head." He groans as he rubs his temples with his fingers.

"Oh, come on, it can't be _that_ bad. You didn't drop any of them did you?" I laugh. "No," he sighs, "but I filled out the forms on weight, head circumference and other need to know bits and pieces while the doctors weighed and measured them. The thing was, some of them would _not_ stop crying. I'm just glad I didn't have to hold one; I wouldn't know what to do. What did you have to do today?" He asks me.

Sighing, I think back to this morning. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I've been dealing with x-rays for broken bones. You'd think that it would be easy, but I've seen some pretty nasty things, including a completely exposed anklebone. The screams were the worst." I say, flinching. Suddenly, any appetite I've had vanishes after thinking about that particular patient again. "Oh! And there was something I found particularly weird, I never saw any Dauntless."

That got his attention. "Really? You'd think that their fearlessness and insane stunts would land someone in the hospital." He says, puzzled. Having been engrossed in our own conversation, we hadn't realized that someone had sat down at the table behind us, listening to what we had to say. So, naturally, when she speaks we both jump and turn to face her, worried that we've stepped too far past the closed off nature of Abnegation.

"I actually have an answer to that," she states. As I look up at her face, I realize she's the technician specialist I've been working with all day. "The Dauntless have their own hospital. A few years back, the main doctors here got tired of seeing so many of them all the time and had them establish one in their own compound. It was difficult, if not impossible, to tell them not to be reckless or to take it easy. Were they still using this facility, they would make up most of the patients." As she says this, she smiles at us, seemingly unfazed by our abnormal curiosity. "If you'll excuse me, I need to check on a patient." Nodding her head, she walks away leaving us to finish our lunch.

"Wow. What could they possibly _do_ there? I mean, I knew they were daredevils but what could they do to land in the hospital so much?" I say, thinking about what the specialist said. "I don't know. Honestly, all I can think of is falling down the stairs. Then again, there's not much to do in Abnegation that could involve getting seriously injured." Tobias responds, obviously caught up in a daydream. I have no doubt that his thoughts are similar to my own. _Gosh, I want to know what they do. _

As if being directed, everyone from Abnegation stands together, except Tobias and I, getting ready to head back to work. This morning we were told that we would finish at different times and to be prepared to walk back to Abnegation. Tobias stands and turns to me before he leaves. "What time do you finish today?" He asks. Glancing down at my file, I look for the end of my shift. "I get off at 4:45. You?"

"I'm done at 4:30. Meet me out front when you're done?"

"Absolutely."

BREAK

"Okay, so what did you actually like about today?" Tobias asks as we work our way back to Abnegation, watching our feet so we won't trip over the broken pavement. "Other than lunch, the rest of the day went well. Not as crazy as this morning. Instead of working with the x-ray technician, I filled out paperwork and got to watch them put casts on different patients. That was cool." Laughing, Tobias looks at me for a minute, "See any of those in our future Beatrice?" he smirks.

"Maybe. Who knows what shenanigans we'll get into in Dauntless," I respond, giggling, elbowing his side like I always do. I pull back quickly, watching as he winces and rubs the spot I just jabbed. There's no way I did that too hard, is there?"Sorry, you okay?" I ask, just making sure. "Uh, yea. You have a sharp elbow there," he smiles. But there's something off about his tone and, for some reason, I feel like he's hiding something from me.

Brushing it off, I ask about his day, "How were the babies for the rest of the day?" Relaxing again, Tobias smiles, "Good. All of them slept for the most part. I only wrote down measurements for a few but several were wheeled back to the patients' rooms. They can decide if they want the babies to stay with them, or be in the nursery. So, thankfully, it was a quiet afternoon."

We walk in silence for a few minutes, exhaustion from the past several hours setting in. As we approach the field before the sector, I'm the one to break it. "Ready for four more weeks of that? Geez, that was exhausting." It's just about time for dinner in Abnegation, so we've returned at the perfect time. "No, not really. But as long as I'm out of the house I don't care." He says almost coldly. More elusiveness? _Maybe he just had a bad night._ I don't really know what to say so I just hum in response.

Stopping between our houses, we look to make sure no one's around and hug goodbye. It looks like his father isn't home yet and I know my parents are fixing dinner in the kitchen, so we're safe. "Meet here before we head to the bus station tomorrow?" He asks. "Sure. And maybe I'll bring you some earplugs for the babies," I laugh. "Oh please do, those things have some strong lungs. See you tomorrow!" He waves, heading over to his house. Waving in return I watch him disappear into his living room, turn around and head inside.

_4 weeks later_

Today marks the first day that we work in the sorting center and all I can think is, thank _goodness_ we don't work in the hospital anymore. Both Tobias and I grew to hate it. Every week we worked somewhere different and, over time, we never saw each other, often having different lunch times. The overall air was depressing and it was made clear that the first week was the easiest.

I worried about Tobias too. On some days, when we could eat together, he'd wince when he sat down and he never relaxed too much. When he did, and his back touched the chair, he'd jerk back up, cringing. I wasn't sure what the problem was, but every time I asked what was wrong, he'd play it off. Slept on his back wrong, pulled a muscle the day before, whatever it was, I always got the same feeling, that he was keeping something from me. Whatever it is, I can only hope that he'll trust me enough to tell me. We tell each other everything; this should be no different.

Last night, we discovered that people work in shifts in the sorting center, so Tobias and I work from eleven in the morning until about four in the afternoon, taking what we've done to the loading trucks after our shift ends. Personally, I'm just excited that we get to sleep a couple more hours. At 10:15 I make my way down our front steps and move so I'm standing between my house and Tobias', waiting for him to meet me so we can walk over together.

A few seconds later, Tobias comes down his front steps and joins me. "I don't know about you, but I'm excited to be out of that hospital." Tobias says, slinging his arm around my shoulder as we approach the sorting center. "Me too. I was getting depressed in there. What do you think we'll be doing today?" Every time I've been in the sorting center, there's been something different. While we always sort things out for the Factionless, there are always things for other factions. I secretly hope that there will be something from Dauntless.

"I don't know. Part of me is hoping we'll see some supplies going to Dauntless." Again, we're on the same wavelength. I gasp, looking up at him. "I was just thinking that. Maybe, if we do, we can figure out what we want to do if we want to train?" I ask, hopefully. He said something about it a while ago and, after seeing how tough the Dauntless are at school, I think it's a good idea.

"I agree. I think that after the summer is over we should figure something out. Maybe it'll help us out when we transfer. Then again, I don't really know how Dauntless initiation goes. But I'd rather be safe than sorry." Pushing the door open, we walk into the center together, anxious to see what we'll be doing. As we walk in, our excitement quickly turns to surprise as we see that my mother is already there. _Great._

"Beatrice, Tobias, I'm glad you're here. This week you'll be sorting food and clothing to hand to the Factionless. Every week we get new shipments in so we won't know until Sunday what is needed for next week." She says, smiling. "Now, I know both of you have helped sort before so do you need me to explain anything?" Looking at each other and then at her, we both shake our heads. "No ma'am." I say.

"Great. If it isn't an inconvenience, I need to head over to the Factionless sector this morning so you both will be on your own. One of the gentlemen has an infection and needs my help." _Yes! _Finally, a moment to relax. We haven't had that all summer. "That will be no problem Mrs. Prior; I'm sure Beatrice and I will be fine." Tobias assures her, smoothly answering her question. Bowing her head to both of us, my mother heads out of the center, leaving us to ourselves.

An hour later, Tobias and I have established a system for sorting food, having fun while getting a lot done. We never send any fruit that is starting to rot to the Factionless so, every time we stumble across something, we throw it into the disposal bin, well, more like aim for the bin. Being competitive, we both see who can get it into the bin from the farthest distance. We're tied right now. Our aim has gotten a lot better since that first time we threw the basketball. Along with the fruit, we have canned food to give them that lasts longer without the need to be heated up, the perfect food for the Factionless.

That's what we're sorting now. Tobias will pick up a can and throw it to me, sometimes behind his back, or between his legs, always doing something different. Laughing I'll catch each one and toss them into the bins, ready to be put on the truck.

By lunchtime we've gotten a lot done. More than we expected to. I filled while Tobias carried and moved the crates. With how heavy they are, I can hardly lift them so Tobias carries them over to the trucks. We're sitting eating our sandwiches, talking about silly things like what we were afraid of when we were little and laughing about how I actually used to check for monsters under my bed when I was little when Marcus walks in, luckily in a quiet moment between the two of us.

"Good afternoon Miss Prior, Tobias. How are things coming in here?" Noticing that Tobias is intently focused on his sandwich, I answer. "So far so good. We've gotten a lot done so far and plan to finish today's rations after lunch is over. Would you like me to make a quick inventory of what has been completed before you leave?" I ask. Normally, when Marcus visits the center, he likes to check on how much will be delivered. " That would be lovely, thank you." He responds.

As I stand, I notice that Tobias' relaxed stance from earlier has changed, tension taking its place. _Why? _Maybe he should do this. Shoving my worry off to the side, I make to move around the room, making sure I can still hear anything Marcus says. Something about him doesn't sit right. The Marcus that stands here is different than the one I see around the faction. It's subtle, but it's there.

Quietly I make note of the amount of fruit and cans we've sorted so far, noting how much we have left. As I'm writing, I hear Marcus speak. Probably thinking I'm out of earshot. "Tobias, you are to be home no later than five this evening. We are having an early dinner."

"Yes, sir." Is all that Tobias says in return, still picking at his sandwich, drawn in on himself.

"Look at me." Marcus commands, his voice cold. What the heck is going on? No wonder Tobias wants to be out of the house all the time. "Some of the council members will arrive at 6:30. Until they are gone, I want you to be in your room and _not _a peep, understood?"

Again, all Tobias says is "Yes, sir."

Noticing how severely uncomfortable Tobias is, I finish taking notes and walk back over, handing the sheet to Marcus. Glancing over it, Marcus says, "You both have gotten a lot done. Good work. At the rate you're going you may get done early. Have a good afternoon." Bowing his head he turns to leave. Opening the door, he turns back to Tobias. "Remember, five o'clock." Then the door closes, and he's gone.

For the rest of the week, we finished sorting through everything we were given. Even receiving words of praise from the elders, taking note of our efficiency and telling us that we make a great team. Marcus never showed up again, but I have no doubt that we'll se him again when a new shipment comes in. I don't know why, but that worries me. While Tobias is strong, independent, and stubborn, all of that disappears around Marcus. I want to ask him about it but I don't know how. Heck, I don't even know if I should be worried.

For the next two weeks, Tobias and I sort through clothing, food and, on occasion, supplies for the Erudite. Spending hours together everyday, we've learned a lot about each other. More than we ever did on our afternoon walks. We've learned about each other's work ethic. How he pushes me and helps me when I don't want to do any more, how we've worked at getting stronger. We both can lift the crates now. He's learned how truly independent I am. Wanting to do everything for myself, proving that I'm not a tiny Abnegation girl. We've also learned a lot about each other's childhoods.

He speaks fondly of his mother, about how they'd play in the front yard during the day before Marcus came home. How she made doing things around the faction fun for him. He never talks about Marcus. He learned about how Caleb and I did a lot together as kids, playing in the front yard, helping my mom prepare banana bread. I told him how, even then, I'd occasionally sneak a little when she sliced it up before heading over to the Factionless sector, a place that Tobias has never been. We both have, obviously, volunteered around the faction since we were little, slowly branching out and moving up until we could help in the sorting center and around the city.

It wasn't until our final week that we got a very pleasant surprise, at least for us. That Monday when we came in, we found more crates than usual and groaned at the added load. It wasn't until we opened them that we realized it was the same amount, but the contents were, in fact, _very _different than the usual haul.

Opening each individual crate, we found an assortment of targets, knives, guns and clothing. _Dauntless items._ Looking up from the first crate I opened, my wide eyes meet Tobias' and we both grinned. It's not much, but it's enough. Without saying a word, we rushed to open the remaining ones finding other items that we've never seen here in Abnegation. Tattoo needles, earrings, combat boots and…cake mix?

Leaning into one of the crates, Tobias reaches in and picks out a couple of small, rectangular boxes, clearly labeled: Chocolate Cake. Just the picture makes our mouths water. Whistling, Tobias says, "Boy, I've never even had it and I already want it. The kids at school talk about this all the time." Having been used to eggs, oatmeal, chicken and plain vegetables, this looks divine. On the rare occasion we get pancakes but nothing extravagant. Picking up a box for myself I examine it. "I wonder how many times they eat this. It looks amazing."

"Yea, I want to know. With Dauntless I doubt it's a delicacy, which is fine by me. The more the merrier. Anyway, want to get started?" Nodding my head, we each pick up a crate to sort through, dividing the items into different piles. The main thing I noticed was the abundance of weaponry. Most of the stock that we sorted through was bullets, guns, and knives.

We were so excited, that we had everything sorted for the day by about two that afternoon, completely skipping lunch. Naturally, we were starving. Through lunch we talked about what we found interesting and things we could do to prepare.

With a mouth full of chicken, Tobias speaks first, "Looking at all of that, I got thinking, I know that they throw knives and train to fight so what if we found a way to prepare ourselves for that?" Nodding my head in agreement, I swallow my bite of food and add, "Yea, I want to do that. But how exactly are we going to practice with knives? We can't exactly steal these. And, I think we need to be in better physical shape for Dauntless. We've both gotten stronger here but we need to figure out a way to do that before we transfer, too." Nodding his head, I can tell Tobias is deep in thought.

"We've got time to think about it, but we'll figure something out. I'm sure there are some old knives lying round in the city somewhere. And, if need be, maybe we can 'borrow' a chopping knife for an afternoon." He smiles. The more we talk about it, the more excited I get. I know we aren't Dauntless yet, but the thought of preparing to get there makes it all the more real.

Having finished early, we go ahead and lock up an hour early, beginning the tread back to Abnegation, only a short five-minute walk. As we approach our houses, I can feel Tobias tense up. Looking up at him, I follow his gaze and land on his house, the light in the living room illuminated. Glancing back at him I see…dread?

Sighing, Tobias looks back at me and says "See you tomorrow? Maybe there will be more Dauntless gear to sort through."

"I hope so. Today was amazing." I respond, grinning.

"I agree," He smiles, "Goodnight Beatrice."

"Goodnight, Tobias."


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys, guess what? Next chapter is initiation chapter! I used this one as sort of a background to training (obviously not going through it all) and made it a longer one. And, as you can see, it's early! Yay for two cancelled classes this week! I plan on having the next chapter up sometime this weekend so keep your eyes peeled. **

**I was also thinking that I might do a little switching points of view from Tris to Tobias a couple of times for initiations, not really sure yet. Let me know what you think! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Divergent or any of the characters.**

_The End of the summer _

It's our final day working and, wanting to enjoy the last moments of Summer, Tobias and I are in Amity again, enjoying the sunshine and the slowly changing leaves signifying the coming Fall. While I look sad to see the summer days coming to an end, Tobias looks happy, if not ecstatic. In fact, for almost the past month he's been worrying me. But every time I ask if something is wrong, he ignores me or brushes it off. And I'm getting tired of it.

In fact, I _know _something's wrong. Thinking back over the past couple of months, I've noticed that he's always making a conscious effort to keep his collar high on his neck, sleeves as low on his arms as possible covering his fingers and with his every movement, at least on some days, he visibly winces like he's in pain. Every time we talk about Dauntless, he has more of a determination in his voice, more desperation. It's almost as if his desire to leave goes beyond the stifling nature of our faction, like he _has _to get out. Even when he hides it when others are around I still know, I see it in his eyes. I can't tell if he's in actual pain or if it's physical exhaustion but either way, I need to put my mind at ease. I want to believe the latter of the two, but I can't, especially after seeing him interact with his father.

For a few days each month, Marcus circulated the volunteer stations, checking on progress and thanking everyone for their contributions. But every time he came around Tobias, Marcus was visibly different, and so was Tobias. As I watched, I could visibly see Tobias shrinking into himself, defeated, never making eye contact, only using one or two word responses. And Marcus, well, it was in his entire posture. He looked domineering, angry even, especially as the summer drew to a close. His eyes no longer carried the look of a caring leader, but carried a harsh glint, morphing into emotionless pits. Granted, most of these exchanges occurred when Marcus thought I wasn't paying attention or he thought I was out of earshot but I always noticed. And I can't help but wonder if he's always like this when not tending to the faction.

On the walk back to Abnegation, I come up beside Tobias and, like I always do these days, I wrap my hand around his bicep for balance so I wont fall in the mud from the previous day's rain. When he sucks in a sharp breath and flinches, I quickly pull my arm away but instead of apologizing this time, I spin so I'm in front of him, face to face, my eyes boring into his pained ones. _He's going to tell me this time._

"What is going on Tobias? And don't tell me it's nothing. You're always in pain, _visibly_ flinching and you should know that you can tell me anything at this point." I know he can see that I'm angry and he knows that I'm angry with him but I don't care. I just want him to be okay and I don't want him to shut me out. I want him to trust me. As I stare up into his face, for the first time I can see the façade cracking but a few seconds later, the walls come back up.

"Nothing is wrong Beatrice. It's nothing that I can't handle." At this his eyes start to dart around, looking at anything, everything except me. I don't want to push him, but I want him to tell me. "I know. But that doesn't mean your best friend can't worry about you. Is there anything I can do? Can I help?" If there's anything I hate, it's feeling helpless. Heck, if he asked me to do push ups I'd do it if it'd make him feel better.

As he ponders his response I take a minute to take in his appearance. At a brief, Abnegation glance all seems normal, but look close and he's anything but. There are dark circles under his eyes, his cheeks are sallow looking and he's lost weight, an unhealthy amount. His eyes appear haunted, nervous and scared.

He sighs deeply and looks at me whispering, "Can I just have a hug? That's all I need, at least for now." Quickly I oblige, slipping my arms around his waist, his arms around my back. I know, at least for him, wanting to be comforted is a big deal. He never wants to look weak or vulnerable, a Dauntless trait I guess. We stand there for a long time, his grip becoming viselike, holding onto me. He breaks the silence first, whispering into my hair. "I'll tell you later Beatrice, I promise. I just need some time. Okay?"

"Okay," is all I can say. Together, we turn and head back to Abnegation arm in arm, needing to return by sunset. Monday marks a new year and another step closer to Dauntless. Hopefully before long all will be okay.

BREAK

On Monday morning, Tobias and I walk together to school, starting our routine back up again; only this time we savor the time together before and after school. This morning we found out that we don't share a lunch period. As we walk, I notice that he visibly seems happier as we ease back into our little routine but the little bruise peeking out from the collar on his shirt doesn't go unnoticed by me. I ignore it for now, knowing that he'll tell me if and when he wants to, but I still make a mental note about it. _Maybe he just bumped against something._

"Excited about this year?" Tobias asks me, breaking the comfortable silence. "I don't know. I really don't know what to expect now that I've moved up." I admit. How much harder will this year be? "Don't worry you'll be fine. I felt the same way, and, in a few short hours we can talk all about everything new at school. Sound good?" Looking down, Tobias smiles at me as he opens the front door of the school, ushering me in to enter before him. "Yep. Good luck today! Meet you out front at 3:10?" I ask before heading to class. "Of course."

BREAK

After school I walk outside, noticing Tobias already waiting, arms behind his back, looking off into the distance taking in the city. As I get closer, he turns, smiling at me, a new glimmer of excitement in his eyes that I haven't seen before; however, I also detect a little nervousness. Why? Almost bouncing, he beckons me to follow him, going in a different direction than we normally do to head home. _What is he up to? _

"Tobias, where are we going?" I ask curiously. While he looks excited, he also looks nervous. "I'll explain when we get there. I have an idea." Oh? Now that's really gotten me curious.

Just as my mind starts to run wild with different scenarios, Tobias opens a door to one of the many buildings on the street and walks inside with me right on his heels.

As he closes the door behind us I take my time to take in our surroundings. To my left is a large bar lined with stools, empty glass bottles lining the shelves behind it. As Tobias turns on the light I can see more clearly. Beyond the bar there is a stage, old broken instruments litter the surface and scattered around the large room are tables surrounding a dance floor. But what really catches my eye is the line of dartboards on the far wall next to a few cloth-covered tables. _What was that game called? Billiards?_

Gripping my shoulders, Tobias steers me to one of the tables by the dance floor, pulling out a chair for me to sit down. I do so quickly, watching as he moves around the table to sit across from me. Taking a deep breath, Tobias looks me dead in the eye and with a nervous voice says, "Before I show you what I have in mind, there's something you need to know. I told you I'd tell you what was going on when I was ready but, honestly, I don't think I'll ever be there and I want you to understand what's happening, okay?"

Not wanting to interrupt, I just sit there, eyes wide and nod my head in understanding. Rubbing his hands over his face, Tobias takes a deep breath, obviously gathering the courage to tell me. _Crap, this is bad. _"If I told you it would be easier to show you, could I? It might make it a little easier." Again, all I can do is nod, afraid that saying anything will do more harm than good, like it'll make him shut down. Standing up from his seat across from me, Tobias starts to unbutton his shirt, slowly slipping it from his shoulders, turning his back to me.

_What the hell?! _His back is covered with a crisscrossed pattern of slashes and welts, turning his skin into a nasty shade of red, black and purple, swelling in various places. I can't stop my harsh intake of breath at the sight of it. His arms have finger shaped bruises, obviously from a hand wrapped too tightly around them.

At first I feel unbearably nauseous. Then, all I can feel is anger, uncontrollable anger. Trying not to cry, I cover my mouth with my hand, biting my knuckle. A thousand questions keep popping into my head, trying to fit the pieces together, but I don't ask them, I wait for him. This is his story to tell. Turning to face me, Tobias can see how upset I am and, once again, beckons for me to sit down so he can explain.

Without hesitation I sit, watching as he re-buttons his shirt and resumes his position across the table. Looking at me, Tobias immediately starts telling me his story. "It hasn't always been like this. Occasionally, when I was little, about three or four, Marcus would lash out at me and my mother, often times locking me in the closet, only coming to let me out for dinner after he was home from work. I could hear her on the other side of the door, calming me, trying to get me out but it never worked. I was in there for hours. But he never really did much to me back then, he was always after mom. I remember her screams and I could remember her crying, begging him not to go after me. He hit me a few times but I always heard him taking out his anger on my mother at night after I went to bed. Dishes were smashed and one day, there was even a hole in the wall. After she died, when I was nine, he calmed down for a while. I started to think that he'd be fine but it started again about a year later. I tried not to worry, his beatings were rare and I only thought I did something to provoke it but, for the past few months it's gotten worse. A lot worse."

Sighing, he looks at me, "If you want me to stop I can. I don't want to scare you." Shaking my head, I offer a tentative smile. Imploring him to continue I say, "No, it's okay," Nodding, he starts right where he left off. "I was, no, I still am confused. The first time he really laid into me I had apparently cooked the eggs for breakfast a little too long. I couldn't sit down for almost three days. This, what you just saw, is because I was not fully asleep at 10:16, _one minute_ after Abnegation's lights go out, signaling the end of the day. I was in bed, lights out, everything. It's like splitting hairs. One day, I helped carry Mrs. Harold's groceries in. He locked me in the closet for eight hours because I didn't get them all in one trip. I can't say anything without worrying what's going to follow his response and I dread seeing him every afternoon."

"Wait, so that's why you do anything you can to stay out of your house, _that's _why Marcus seems so cruel around you. Jesus, why didn't I figure this out before?" I feel so stupid. I should have picked up on it. I rub my hands over my face, trying to take in all that Tobias has told me. _I hate him. How could he do this? _

"Hey, don't be mad because you couldn't figure it out. I didn't want anyone to know. But _he's _the reason I have to leave. Before, I just felt stifled. Now I feel trapped." Glancing up at him, I can't help the words that come out of my mouth next. "I hate him Tobias. He's your _father. _God, I could just –" Interrupting me Tobias grabs my hand and says, "Hey, hey I get it, I'm not his biggest fan but there's nothing we can do. Just, please, I'm _begging_ you to stay away from him. I don't know what I'd do if he somehow got a hold of you too."

Nodding my head, I search for a way to change the subject. I can't dwell on this too long. If I do, I'll probably do something rash that'll get Tobias in more trouble. He doesn't deserve what's already been dished out.

"So, what was this idea you had? You seemed pretty excited." I ask. Thankful for the change in direction, Tobias' eyes light up with the excitement I saw outside of the school. Pulling a black box out from his jacket pocket and placing it on the table, Tobias starts to explain. "I met a Dauntless kid in class today, Zeke. Ironically, he noticed the bruise sticking out of my shirt and asked about it. Naturally, I said nothing but he caught me eyeing his knife set a few times in class."

Immediately, my eyes shoot down to the box sitting between us, noticing for the first time the Dauntless symbol carved into the lid. "Is that…?" Is all I can get out. Nodding his head, Tobias continues, "Anyway, after a few sideways glances from me he said something along the lines of, 'you're rather curious for a Stiff. Hell, I've never seen a Stiff with a battle scar, you sure you're not Dauntless?' all I could do was smile and face the front of the room again. Anyway, after class he came over and handed me these. He said to take them, he has five more sets at home. He said to practice and, if I wanted to transfer to Dauntless, I'd be more prepared to handle initiation."

It takes me a minute to realize that my jaw has dropped to the floor in surprise. And I'm actually _excited._ "Wait, so you're telling me that we're going to take these and practice knife throwing? Really?" As I say this, my eyes wander back over to the dartboards and it suddenly dawn on me, _that's_ why we met here. With a crooked smile, Tobias nods his head and opens the box, revealing eight long, and _very _sharp silver knives. "I figured that with a little practice, we could be better prepared. It's not everyday that an Abnegation leaves, let alone joins Dauntless. I figured that this could help us out."

Together we stand up and walk over to the boards, each taking four knives. "Oh, another thing," Tobias adds, "before we left class, Zeke showed me the proper way to hold one." Picking one of his knives up, he holds it, illustrating how he was shown at school today and I try to mimic him. We each take turns throwing, giving each other pointers on how we think we could alter our stance or our arm. For the first thirty minutes or so, all we can hear is the clatter of knives hitting the floor following the dull thump of them hitting the wall. Then, naturally, Tobias is first to hit the target. It was on the outside ring, but he hit it.

The longer we practiced, the better we got. We kept our eyes on the window, checking to see when we needed to leave. After about an hour and a half, we were both hitting the target, getting closer to the center but still not quite there. But we weren't worried. We still had a few of years before Tobias transferred.

Leaving, we hid the knives there for our return the next day. As we cross the field on our way to the Abnegation sector, Tobias breaks the silence and asks me, "When you transfer, are you sticking with Beatrice?" Confused I look up at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, are you changing your name? Knowing you, you're tougher than Beatrice, more unique."

"Honestly, I'm not sure. I haven't really thought about it. I might though. I wouldn't want to lose sight of who I am here, but I'd want to stand out, be different in Dauntless. Have you given it any thought? Changing your name?"

Looking up at him, I can see he's deep in thought as he glances around the tall grass and wildflowers outside of the sector. "Of course. But not for the reasons you're thinking. If I were to get a new identity, I would want it to be one that completely separated me from my father. One where no one would know where I came from or what I was running from. I'm just not sure how to do that yet."

I know there's not much I can do to reassure him that all will be okay because, honestly, I don't know. And I know he doesn't want pity so I just smile, wrapping my arm around his waist gingerly, trying not to hurt him, as his goes around my back and we continue walking back to the sector.

_One year later _

"Again."

"What? Seriously?" I gasp, out of breath, "That was perfect! I at least need a break." Putting my hands on my knees, I glance up at him, his hands on his hips, an amused smirk plastered on his face.

"No, Tris. I know you. If you quit now you'll be kicking yourself later for not throwing everything into it. That's what happened last week, remember?"

I know Tobias is right. Last week, we were working in the gym we'd found about six months ago and I quit when I felt a little tired. Only later, I realized I could have kept going and I hated that I quit so soon. We've known each other long enough that we know each other's limits and, like he pushes me, I push him too.

I have long since grown to love my "new name". The day after our conversation on our way home, he called me Tris on the way to school saying that, like I wanted, it had part of me but was more unique and _bad ass._ I agree. It suits me.

Before the end of the school year we found the place where we are now. An old abandoned gym on our walk home from school. Inside there are old, slightly rusty machines, an indoor track and punching bags, where we're working today. As to not raise any suspicions when we get home, we wear our gym clothes from school, making sure that any sweat we've accumulated doesn't get on our other clothes. _Not that it would be a problem. These clothes are stiflingly hot._

"Okay, okay you're right, I know." Getting up, I move to face the punching bag again, preparing for another round, knowing I can go longer. For the past couple of months we've been teaching ourselves how to fight with the punching bags, giving each other pointers and trying to learn different punches. Every once in a while, we'll switch it up, using the machines instead, gathering our strength.

"Okay, this time," Tobias says as he comes up behind me, "Tuck your elbows in a little more like this." Grasping my elbows, he tucks them closer to my side and resumes his stance behind the punching bag, holding it steady. For the next ten minutes I practice various punches and kicks with the occasional pointer from Tobias on what to change. That's another thing we've done, monitor the Dauntless from afar. On occasion, some of the Dauntless kids will get into a friendly sprawl after school, leaving me and Tobias to watch how they move, out of sight of course.

Both of us have worked hard today and as we finish up on the bags, I look up at the indoor track above the gym, noticing that we still have about thirty minutes before we have to leave. "Tobias?"

"Hmm?"

"You know, we still have about thirty minutes before we have to clean up. What if we went for a quick run?" I ask, looking back at him.

"I was thinking the same thing. We haven't really done much with running yet; maybe it'll build our stamina. Want to race?" He smirks.

I laugh. We haven't even started and we're already thinking about competing. _Typical._ "Maybe next time. Even though we've never tried running before, I already know you'd beat me." I smirk, pointing a finger at him.

"True. Why don't we both go for a mile and see our times. Then we'll work on getting better and add more distance. _Then _we can make things a little more interesting." Tobias grins, rubbing his hands together.

"And by that you mean find a way to kick my butt and leave me in the dust?" Lately, some banter has become part of our routine. We like to tease each other.

"Something like that." He smiles in return. "Ready?"

Nodding my head we both head upstairs, watches in hand, ready to time our run.

Tobias beat me by almost three minutes but I don't worry. He's in great shape and, naturally, boys are faster. Overall, we both did well and, at least for me, I feel like running is a great way to wind down after going at the punching bag for a while.

Heading back downstairs, we grab our gym towels, making sure to wipe off any remaining sweat from our workout. After hanging our towels on the racks, we both go into the old locker rooms and change back into our standard Abnegation garb.

Meeting back out front, we start walking back to the sector a whole fifteen minutes earlier than usual. _I'm so tired._

"Hey Tris, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what's up?" I ask, curious.

"I forgot to mention this earlier, but, you know those meetings the leaders have with Erudite?" I nod my head remembering my father mentioning this morning the need to head over twice a week these days. "Yea, I remember. Why?"

"Well, this morning my father told me that he'll be taking me home every Tuesday and Thursday from school to get more done around the faction. That takes time away from us training and hanging out before going home, and, unfortunately, leaves me with him. But I have an idea."

At the mention of Marcus I immediately have to try to keep my anger in check. I've seen the result of Tobias being around Marcus more often. After he finally told me what was going on, I managed to get some medication from my mother for "a Factionless kid that needs it" and have been helping in keeping infections away.

"Really? Is it safe? I don't want to do something that could make anything else worse for you." I say, refocusing my attention back on the current situation. Stopping in the street, Tobias turns towards me. "Hey, don't worry yourself, okay? I know it'll be fine, _but_, we would possibly have to stay up a little later."

"Wait, stay up later? You've lost me. Are you saying we'd sneak out at night?" I ask, not sure where this is going.

"Not exactly. I know that on Tuesdays and Thursdays we practice different punches and kicks and we both want to work on that. So, with that said, I was looking between our houses today and, you know that big tree?"

I know exactly what he's talking about. There is a huge oak tree that spans almost the entire distance between our two houses. One of the branches hits the side of my house while the other side brushes his window, directly across from mine. And suddenly, I know exactly what he's thinking. Oh my God.

I look up at him, my eyes wide, in realization of what he's saying. "I knew you would figure it out, Tris." He laughs. "Now, what I was thinking, " he says, turning back around and slinging an arm around my shoulders as we walk. "Was for one of us to climb across the tree and into the other window. We'd have to be quiet but I figure we could do some slow, formation punches, whispering to give each other feedback. Maybe even talk about school or how your walk home was like."

The thought of walking home alone after being with him for so long doesn't sit well. But, rather than moping, I think of it as practice for when he transfers. I know I won't like it when he's gone but we have just over two years before that happens. _Only two years. _I try not to dwell on it.

"Okay, I like it. But, what happens if one of our parents comes to check on us, _especially_ Marcus. I don't think they'd be too happy seeing someone else in the room."

"True." He says, seeing the flaw in the plan.

Thinking about how this could work, I come to the conclusion that there is only one way we can go about this. Looking up into Tobias' face, I see that he, too, is deep in thought. It's when we're walking through the final stretch before Abnegation that I speak up.

"The only way I can think of to make this happen is if I make the climb over to your window. That way, if Marcus wakes up and wants to check that you're asleep, I can hide in the closet until we're clear. I know my parents won't check on me, they never do; I'm always up later anyway. And, with you safe in your room, Marcus will never know."

"I think that just might work. I say that you climb over at 11:15, but in case it's not safe yet, I'll open and close my blinds twice to tell you to wait a few minutes, you game?" Tobias says, grinning.

"Oh, definitely. So day one, tomorrow?" I ask, not sure if the meetings start tomorrow or on Tuesday next week.

"Yep." Tobias says apprehensively. Both of us, while excited about something new in the evenings, are not at all excited about the change in plans, especially plans that involve his father. We'll get through it.

"Okay. And one more thing."

"Yes?"

"Stay strong, okay?" I know that he'll get through being with Marcus tomorrow, but he knows I still worry. I can't help it.

"Of course."

_Another year later _

Today is Tobias' fifteenth birthday and I haven't seen him all day. Not only did Marcus pick him up from school as per the new schedule on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but he also took him to school, needing to be in the city early. I believe the words I overheard were something to the effect of: "You shouldn't be in the house alone; you could screw something up like you always do."

Tonight, however, we plan on having our usual session in his room. Surprisingly, the plan has worked out perfectly. Marcus hasn't checked on Tobias one time and we've gotten a lot better when it comes to form when practicing punches. Generally we'll be together for an hour, maybe more. Every other week we've worked on knife throwing as well. We've definitely had to be careful with that one.

Using a couple of old pieces of cardboard as a backdrop, we take one of the dartboards that we got from the bar and lean it up against the wall. Turns out, the cardboard muffles the sound and if we miss, which is rare nowadays, it stops the knife from puncturing a hole in the wall behind it.

The better we get, the less pointers we give each other and, now, we mainly just talk about everything and nothing. Tobias showed me a trunk he has hidden under his bed filled with odds and ends that most people would find useless. This is where we've put the dartboard and knives for safekeeping. What stood out most to me was the blue glass sculpture. Tobias told me that, before she died, his mother gave it to him. He's had it ever since.

The walk home from school on days like these is generally silent as I walk alone, the only sound coming from the rustling of trees in the wind, the occasional bird singing. It's hard, knowing that in just a year I'll be doing this everyday.

Today though, I have other plans. On the rare occasion, an Abnegation member can buy a small gift of some kind for another person and, seeing how Abnegation never celebrates birthdays, I want to get something for Tobias. Walking into the general store, I look for something that might work. I obviously can't be anything big so I wait for something to catch my eye.

Turning to my left I catch sight of something neither Tobias nor I have ever had. _Candy. _It seems childish to get so excited, but when you grow up on chicken; carrots; and peas without variety, sometimes you just want something that tastes different, something _good. _Grabbing one of the many options, I quickly pay and head out the door, ready for this evening.

_11:15 PM _

Crawling into Tobias' window, I see that he looks a little more on edge than usual. "What's wrong?" I whisper, trying to decipher his look.

"Marcus is restless tonight. I've heard him get up and walk around the house a couple of times. I don't want him coming in here so we need to be careful."

"Ok. What if, in light of your birthday…hey! Don't roll your eyes. I know you don't think anything of them. I for one, think our faction is missing out. Everyone else celebrates them." I say, pointing a finger at him. "_Anyway,_ in light of your birthday what if we just relax, keep an ear open for any disturbances and maybe enjoy what I got you?"

Snapping his eyes to mine, Tobias looks extremely surprised and elated, although he tries to hide it. I've obviously thrown him off guard, something that's rather hard to do. "You got me something? Tris you didn't have to do that."

"I know," I smile, "but it's also self serving in a way. We can both enjoy it." Giving me a crooked smile and crossing his arms, Tobias gives me a skeptical look and asks, "What did you do?"

Just as I'm about to answer we hear a rustling across the hall. Shooting each other quick, panicked expressions, Tobias dives under his covers while I hide in the closet, just able to see a sliver of his bed through the crack in the door.

Tobias forces his breathing to become even as we hear his bedroom door open. Through the crack I can see Marcus. Silently he walks towards Tobias' bed, checking to see if he's actually asleep, no doubt looking for any excuse to rip into him for something pointless. My heart is in my throat and I swear if it beat any louder, Marcus would hear it. Luckily, Tobias gives nothing away and, seemingly satisfied, Marcus leaves the room a minute later.

Both of us wait a few minutes before re-emerging from our posts. _That was close. _Sitting in the middle of his floor, finally relaxing, I pull out the candy. "Oh my God Tris, you didn't." Tobias gasps, completely shocked.

"I wasn't sure what kind it was but I figured any of them would do, I recognize the wrapper from seeing the Erudite and Dauntless kids carrying them around so I figured we could give it a try."

Together, we read over the wrapper and immediately get excited. _Chocolate. _Tobias unwraps it and breaks it in half, handing one to me. Biting into the pieces we both groan, uncovering another delicacy not found in Abnegation, peanut butter. For the next couple of minutes, the room is silent as we eat. Tobias breaks it first.

"Thank you. This was the perfect ending to today. You know, your birthday comes in a couple of months, maybe we can do this again." He smiles, content.

"You don't have to get me anything I'm fine."

"I know but I want to. And besides, you didn't have to get anything today either; it's just another day." Tobias responds, licking the remaining peanut butter off of his fingers. Looking down at my own hands, I start to do the same. _This is too good to waste._

A few minutes later we both get to our feet and, while we "train" like we always do, we laugh and just talk, relaxed. Well, as relaxed as we could be. For the next hour we worked, talked, and just sat there enjoying each other's company. Before I head back over to my room we hug goodnight, but we don't pull away quickly, both enjoying the comfort of each other. Part of me wonders if we're both realizing that these days are coming to an end soon; but at the same time, when all of this ends our new lives begin. In Dauntless.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys! So I took into consideration some of the things you wanted. I, too, wanted them to meet up at some point in the two years but I didn't want them to just jump into a romantic relationship right as he's leaving, so I tried to find a balance in it. But anyway, here's the next chapter! **

**Hope you enjoy! Happy Monday! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Divergent and the characters. **

_Tobias' Aptitude Test Day – One year later_

This morning, I walked to school alone. _The first of many days._ Tobias was required to leave early this morning for his aptitude testing which will ultimately determine where he belongs. Regardless of our results, we can choose what we desire and I know that he'll choose Dauntless regardless.

For a while now, according to Tobias, Marcus has vocalized his opinion on Dauntless and both of us have determined that Dauntless is his least favorite faction. When Tobias is with his father, generally on the way home from school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Marcus will often call them "barbarians", "foolish", "stupid attention seekers", the list goes on. Obviously he's talking more to himself; you'd think Tobias was a piece of furniture at this point rather than his son.

It may sound terrible, but it heightens the satisfaction of transferring even more to Tobias, knowing that not only will he be free, but he will have chosen to go to the one place that Marcus hates most.

Naturally, I'm anxious. I have no idea how the tests work and I worry that I wont be able to see him again before the Choosing Ceremony tomorrow. We _both_ don't want that. We plan on seeing each other this evening and I can only hope that Marcus won't do something to thwart the plan.

Thinking about the ceremony, I know I can't just waltz right in when I'm supposed to be at school, so I need to figure out a way to not be noticed. I know that no one is notified if a student is absent for one day so I'm safe there. The problem is my parents. Both of them will be at the ceremony and I can't risk being seen. Tobias and I have already discussed the ceremony and I know he wants me there. I wouldn't miss it. _Especially since I won't see him for two years. _

The fact that tonight is the last night we'll be able to actually be with each other is hard. Not having that routine, that person to always talk to, no one to get into trouble with will be different, boring and extremely lonely, at least for me. I'm not entirely sure how it will affect Tobias; Dauntless is another world. I'm not going to lie, there is a small part of me that fears that he'll forget about me and we'll both lead separate lives in Dauntless, but I don't dwell on that. I know I'm just being silly and, to be honest, partially jealous. I still have two years. _Two years _before I can join him, finally free.

I take my time on the way home, knowing that the sixteen year olds are already back. Their parents get the last half of the afternoon off, all arriving back at home an hour after the students return from testing. The purpose of this is to allow them the evening after dinner to relax, think and prepare their minds to make the best decision for themselves without assisting in nightly duties. So, I don't hurry. It'll be hours before I can see Tobias and my parents won't be home for another three.

At 11:15 exactly, I make my way over to Tobias' room. It takes a little longer these days. The tree has grown, causing the need to maneuver through more branches. Then again, I have too. I'm still tiny, but still not as small as I used to be. As I climb through the window, I straighten and find Tobias lying on his bed, looking at his ceiling. His expression is unreadable, different emotions crossing his face, obviously lost in thought.

He's tall for a sixteen year old and, after training and all of the volunteer hours we've put in the sorting center, he's muscular too. I can only imagine how he'll be in Dauntless. His feet almost pass the end of the bed and his fingers drum absentmindedly over his stomach.

"Thinking about anything important?"

At the sound of my voice he jumps; obviously he didn't hear me come in. "Jesus you scared me!" Tobias laughs. It's not often that I make him jump out of his skin. "But yes, I was."

"Care to share? Or is this one of those 'I got my test results and I need to be deep in thought moments'?" I ask sarcastically. Obviously it wasn't. We've been told that the test really doesn't tell us anything and, since I know he's choosing Dauntless, why would he be thinking about the test anyway?

"Actually, it's a little similar. Kind of bizarre." He says, eyes glazing over like he's trying to figure out a puzzle. Together, we sit on the floor with our backs up against the wall. I know that tonight there is no training, just Tobias and me talking. Together, like old times.

"This morning, just before we left, Marcus stopped me from leaving but not for the reasons you're thinking." Giving me a pointed look to relax, he continues, "Looking me straight in the eye he told me, _told me,_ what to do in the test today. I was to go in there, pick the meat and feed it to the dog, resulting in an Abnegation test result."

"I knew not to ask him why, but he told me; I'm actually glad he did. I don't know all of the specifics but there is a group looking for people who are, shall we say, _aware_ that it's a simulation, who can manipulate it, change it, who know that it isn't real. I just thought it was stupid at first but during the simulation _I _was _aware._

"I did exactly as he said and got Abnegation. I know that it's called Divergent but I don't understand the implications. Hell, why Marcus would tell me is beyond my comprehension. So now I'm here, trying to figure it out."

For the first time in a very, _very_ long time, I have no idea what to say. Instead I choose not to dwell on it. "That's…perplexing. Whatever it means I'm sure one, if not both of us will figure it out eventually. For now though, don't worry yourself, please. You have a big day tomorrow and after tonight, it may be two years before we see each other again."

Sighing, Tobias turns his head to me, sadness creeping into his eyes. It's subtle but it's there. Although both of us are excited, we're both anxious too. I know we'll both be strong but it'll take adjustment to not see each other everyday. We've done just about everything together for the past four and a half years.

"Yea you're right. I can't believe it's tomorrow. The past few years…God they've flown by." Tobias says as he closes his eyes and leans his head back against the wall.

For the next two hours we sit there talking, laughing, smiling, relaxing and reassuring. Glancing up beside me towards his alarm clock I see that it's almost 1:30 in the morning, and with the ceremony starting at ten, we both need our sleep.

We both stand up and, in that brief moment, I know it hits us both that this was the last time we could _really_ talk to each other before he transfers. Tobias crushes me to him and we stand there, hugging, for a long time. "I'm going to miss you so much Tris." Tobias mumbles into my hair, the vibrations in his chest working through me. Puling back slightly so I can see his eyes, I whisper, "I'm going to miss you too, so much."

Tobias leans forward, pressing his lips to my forehead, surprising me. For the first time, a new feeling spreads through me. I'm not sure what it is, the only way I can describe it would be _want. _I feel drawn to him. In a way, I always have been but it's not been like this. Why did such a simple gesture do that? Make me feel that?

Prolonging the moment we both stand there. When he pulls away, I can still feel his lips on my forehead. It's 1:45 when I finally head back over to my room. Turning back around to shut my window, we wave goodnight to each other then head on to bed. _Two years._

_The Next Morning_

At eight o'clock, I begin the trek to school, keeping up the charade that I'm actually going; but instead of going to school with the rest of the kids, I head for another spot, closer to the building that will hold the Choosing Ceremony, our spot with the strawberries and apple trees. I plan on hiding my backpack in one of the bushes when I leave for the ceremony, grabbing it on my way home. Keeping track of the time, I laze in one of the trees, eating an apple until my watch says that it's 9:30.

Hopping down from the branch, I stow my bag, throwing the apple core into the field and make my way over. Leaving at 9:30 gets me there about two minutes before the ceremony starts. With no one in the lobby, I quickly get into the elevator and ride my way up. As I enter I keep my head down, slipping into the back with the other Abnegation. No one notices me.

Glancing around the room, I see people from every faction, clearly divided. At the front of the room, facing the crowd, are the initiates, lined in alphabetical order. As I turn my head to my left I see the table where the leaders from each faction sit. Luckily, a concrete pillar blocks my view of my father, but I can clearly see Marcus. _Good. _

Just as I sit down, the ceremony begins. This year, the Erudite are in charge so their leader, Jeanine Matthews, takes the stage, giving the annual speech about choosing where we belong and the start of the faction system and the five ways of thinking.

Glancing back at the initiates, I scan the group for Tobias and it doesn't take me long to find him. His eyes are already locked on me and I stare back. There is a steely determination in his eyes and, by the look of his posture, I can tell that Marcus got to him this morning. My eyes dart over to him and back to Tobias. With the faintest nod I know I'm right. _Well, isn't that a nice way to say goodbye, _I think cynically.

I know that Tobias needs his strength right now. Obviously he's transferring but he'll be the first Abnegation to transfer, _ever._ That has to be hard to do. No matter how stifled or trapped you feel in your faction, there is still a part of you that is tied to it, a part of you that knows it's leaving something behind.

We both stare at each other until his name is called, I nod my head at him and, steeling himself, he stands and heads over to the five bowls. Picking up his knife he slices his hand and, without a moments hesitation, he thrusts his hand over the burning coals, the sound of his blood sizzling slicing through the room.

Turning he sits back down, never looking at Marcus and the room breaks out into hushed whispers. The Dauntless holler and scream, excited for another initiate. No one saw that coming. Everyone seems to be trying to comfort Marcus, giving him concerned, sympathetic glances. But I know better. His face? I've seen that mask before, the mask where he feigns emotion. His face says that he's sad, shocked to see Tobias leave. But his eyes? His eyes are angry, angry because his son left, and he's gone to the place Marcus hates most.

But I know there's more behind his anger. I know that, having the first child to transfer, Marcus no longer has the perfect family image that he's tried in vain to create. And Tobias has opened the door for future Abnegation to transfer. Nothing matters more to Marcus than his reputation among the faction.

It's common knowledge that everyone who transfers is running from something. Tobias just had a better reason to leave. I turn my attention back to him, his eyes on the Dauntless, still cheering. As if sensing that I'm looking at him, his eyes lock with mine and all I can see is relief. He finally did it.

As the ceremony ends, the initiates are separated into their chosen factions and they start to file out. Just before Tobias turns the corner, he turns back, smiles and nods his head, his eyes catching mine. Then, he's gone.

Quickly, I sneak out, unnoticed by everyone and make my way back to our old spot to grab my bag. I know it'll be hard with him gone, but I won't be sad about it. I won't mope. I'm stronger than that. I know it will be a long time before we see each other again but _that's _what keeps me going. Knowing that we will. It may be a long time, but we'll see each other again. In Dauntless.

_Two Weeks Later_

"This is completely ridiculous!" My father says suddenly, reading the paper. Intrigued, I glance up from my dinner and look to my father. What has him so worked up?

"Andrew, what is it?" My mother asks, placing her hand on top of his. Everyone is curious but we try not to show it, the philosophy of not prying coming into play. Then again…it's in the paper.

Rubbing his nose with his fingers my father looks up. "There's been some reports on Abnegation. Completely ridiculous of course but still, they're there. The Erudite are saying that the reason Marcus' son defected because Marcus mistreated him, _abused _him. God, that's completely stupid. He would never do that."

I have to stop my jaw from dropping to the floor. No, I have to stop myself from defending Tobias. If I do, I might as well expose everything we've been secretly doing for the last four years. I know he doesn't want anyone to know about Marcus anyway, so I keep my mouth shut. _But why are they reporting this? Do they know? _

"It'll be fine Andrew. They've been trying to overtake us for years. If they think they can win by feeding everyone a lie then they're wrong. This will die down over time."

A few seconds later, there's a knock at the door. Getting up from his place at the table, Caleb answers it, Marcus stepping into the room, the mask in place. _Great, this night keeps getting better._ Immediately, he and my father step into the living room, no doubt discussing the allegations placed on Marcus. If only he knew how true they were.

It's my turn to clean up from dinner and, just as I'm finishing, both my father and Marcus step back into the room.

"I'm so sorry you have to deal with this Marcus, hopefully the council can do some damage control. You can count on my family to support you." My father says in a comforting voice, shaking his hand. _Not the whole family. _

Caleb and my mother are quick to agree, both muttering on how crazy it is. Wondering who would accuse an Abnegation leader of such things. I stay silent. I don't trust myself right now. So many years ago Tobias asked me not to do anything rash, so I'm trying.

"Help yourself to something to eat. I'll be back in a minute." Leaving the room, my father heads over to the living room, no doubt to tell my mother and Caleb that the council will call for an emergency meeting this evening. Unfortunately, this leaves me alone with Marcus. _Crap. _

"You do understand how ridiculous these allegations are, don't you Beatrice?" _Keep your mouth shut; don't say a word. _I keep chanting, knowing I'll regret anything that leaves my mouth. "Don't you?" He asks again.

"We live in the one place where getting to know someone is frowned upon, I don't know what to believe. I've seen you interact with him." I say, bitterness in my voice. _Crap, I said that out loud. Filter, Tris. Don't let on that you know. _

Turning, I head for the stairs. It's customary to do homework after dinner so my leaving shouldn't be questioned. But right now, I could care less about homework; I just want to leave the room, not trusting my brain to mouth function.

Grabbing my arm tightly from behind, I hear him speak in a cold, controlled voice. "They're not true." It's like he's forcing me to believe him, tightening his grip as he says it. I know it'll leave a bruise. Grabbing all the strength I can, I turn, my eyes boring into his.

"Then you should have no trouble letting go of my arm and allowing me to go upstairs in _peace._" I say, overemphasizing the last word. _I really need to stop talking. _

I maintain eye contact as he lets go; then I turn and head straight for my room, his eyes still boring into the back of my head.

_6 moths later_

For the first couple of months after Tobias left, I didn't really do much in regards to preparing for Dauntless. But getting out of that routine left my afternoons bleak and dull. So, about three months ago, I began working again. It's not quite the same doing it alone, but it's a good tension release, a good escape.

I practice with knives at night, having snuck over to Tobias' room after he left to take the hidden dartboard and knife set. But today I'm back in the gym. I started with a run and after working the punching bag for a while, I moved to the machines.

"Is that seriously all you can lift?" A sarcastic voice startles me, making me jump. Crap, someone found me. I spin quickly, looking for the source and my jaw drops to the floor, eyes widening in disbelief. _Tobias. _

He's taller, definitely taller. He's also more muscular, the inverted triangle. Overall, he looks more like a man and less like the sixteen-year-old boy. His eyes are the same, deep blue and he's not changed his hair. He's kept it short. The short sleeve black t-shirt accentuates his muscles as he leans up against the doorframe, watching me.

"What? How?" Is all I can stutter. How is he _here?_

"What am I doing here?" He laughs. "Well, I had to run to Erudite to give them some data from our control room. I don't have much time but I wanted to say hi. I figured you might be here." He says walking towards me.

"Oh really?"

"Really."

And with that, he swoops me up into a hug, my arms going around his middle, his around my shoulders. "I've missed you Tobias." I say into his chest.

"I've missed you too." He says, tightening his grip. And it's there again, that feeling I had when he left, like a dull ache. It makes me want to be closer to him and I'm still trying to figure it out.

"I know you can't be here long but, I'm dying to know. How is it? What's it like?" I can't help my curiosity, we've spent so many years on the outside looking in and now one of us is on the inside.

Smiling a boyish grin he looks down at me, "It's great. For the most part I love it. But there are some that totally disregard the Dauntless manifesto 'ordinary acts of bravery'. Basically a few believe in ruthlessness and stupidity over actual bravery but then again, I figured there would be some people like that. There's a great sense of freedom compared to Abnegation, more fun and _much_ better food.

Oh, and the cake? Oh my God. If I had known for sure that I'd see you, I'd have brought a piece." He laughs and I laugh with him. "What about the fighting, the noise? Are they always that loud?" I ask.

"Yea they're always that loud. People will brawl for fun, and the games are pretty intense, you'll see. I don't want to spoil it for you, trust me. It'll take the novelty off. But one thing I learned in initiation, everything we've done over the years has helped some. The aim with the knives will help with shooting. You wont have any problems with knife throwing." He smiles. "Another thing, use your _whole_ body in a fight."

"Okay, great. I'll keep that in mind. When do you have to leave? I know you said you didn't have long." If I'm not careful, we'll get talking and be here for hours. He knows it too. Glancing at his watch he says, "I need to leave in a couple minutes if I want to catch the train. I'm sorry I can't stay longer. But before I go, how is everything here? Everything basically the same?"

"Yea pretty much. Only now, your father is on some crusade to prove his "innocence" to the faction. I don't believe him and he knows that, unfortunately. By the way, how did the Erudite report that? Do they actually know?"

Rubbing his neck, Tobias looks at me, "That's a long story. I didn't tell them but the Dauntless leaders found out. You could say that I showed them. In initiation we have to face our fears through simulations."

"Oh," I say, looking off into the distance.

"Wait, what did you mean he knows you don't support him?" He asks quizzically, a little worried.

Quickly, I retell the story from when Marcus came over to the house, leaving out that he grabbed my arm. Instead I tell him that he stepped in front of me, blocking my path until I told him to move. But I do tell him what I said and how I regretted it but how it still got my view across.

When I'm finished, Tobias looks angry. I hope it's not directed towards me. "He didn't hurt you did he?" Tobias' voice is deadly cold. "No, not like what you're thinking. But I know I raised some suspicion to him and he hasn't talked to me since." I say quickly.

"Good." Tobias says, letting out the breath he was holding. If Marcus had done something…well I don't really want to think about what Tobias would do. Glancing at his watch again, Tobias groans. "I have to go or I'll miss the train. Hopefully we can do this again."

He hugs me goodbye and kisses my forehead, heading towards the door. "Oh Tobias?" He turns, "Eat some cake for me." I smile.

"Oh I will." He grins. The last thing I see before he leaves are the lines of a tattoo peeking out from his shirt collar.

_One Year Later_

Six months from today is my choosing ceremony and I can't wait. Although it's been hard not having Tobias here, I've managed. Keeping with our old schedule, minus Tobias, I've gone to the gym and worked on my aim at night in my room. To say that time has drifted slowly is a major understatement so, now, I'm getting antsy.

I've long since gotten used to the quiet walks home and the dull evenings that follow school so, now, laying here between sleep and awake, the tapping on my window startles me. Glancing over I see Tobias peeking through my window. _What?_

Quickly I open my window, beckoning him inside. "What are you doing here? Is everything okay?" I figured if he climbed a tree to come see me in the dead of night something was going on.

If I thought that he changed in my first six months away, it's nothing compared to how he looks now. For a second I almost don't recognize him. Yes, it's still him but he's filled out, looks tougher and so very mature for his age. I have to stop myself from staring. _Damn. _

And here I am, all fifteen years of awkwardness. One would almost think I never hit puberty. I look childish.

Breaking me out of my reverie, Tobias sighs, "Well, yes and no. Two things. One, I found out yesterday that the leaders are changing initiation training. I'm not sure how but seeing who's in leadership, I don't think it'll be a good thing. I came to warn you."

Nodding my head in understanding I ask him what else is going on. I know that's not the main reason he's here. Call it intuition, insight into his behavior no doubt from being friends for so long, whatever. I just know.

"Something happened this morning, someone. Literally the last person I would _ever_ expect to contact me did and wants to reconcile. I just don't know what to _think. _All these years and she chooses _now?! _Jesus." Sitting on my bed, completely confused, I watch him pace back and forth beside my bed, rubbing his hands through his hair or behind his neck.

"Okay, you've lost me. Who? I have no clue who you're talking about here." Still pacing, Tobias goes to answer but I cut him off. "Okay, sit. You're making me dizzy."

"Sorry. I'm just so surprised and _angry_. Of all the things to happen I never –" Cutting him off again, I put my hand over his mouth. "Before you go any further at least tell me who you're talking about. Give me the story." Sheepishly he smiles, apologizing again.

"Okay. This morning I was doing my rounds. We changed the codes on the fences today and I was doing a check to make sure they worked. Before I could make it back to the train, someone stopped me." Glancing up at me, no doubt to gauge my reaction he says, "Evelyn."

"Hold on. Evelyn, your _mom_? The one that's supposed to be dead? That one?" I say, completely shocked. Okay, _now_ I see why he's weirded out. His mother who died seven years ago is suddenly not dead and trying to contact him. I'd freak out too.

"Yea. And it gets better." He says sarcastically. "She wants me to come and join her…with the Factionless. Naturally, I said no. You'd think I'd be happy to see her but when I think about how she's been alive all this time, I'm just angry.

"She left me with _him._ She never thought about taking me with her. When I asked why she left me she said that she thought I'd be fine. But you don't just _do _that!" Clearly he's angry about it. Who would leave their son with a walking nightmare? Getting up from the bed, he starts to pace again. I know that right now he needs to sort through this and if coming all this way to vent to me helps, then so be it.

"Hey, look at me. It'll be fine. I know it's a complete shock to you that she's out there but realize this: you don't have to have any interaction with her if you don't want it. It was wrong of her to do that and if she wants to make amends it'll take one hell of a lot more than just one encounter to do it."

Nodding, Tobias seems to finally relax, taking in what I hope was some good advice. We'll see. We both sit down again and, unlike the last time I saw him, we talk for another hour. Sadly, there's not much going on in Abnegation but when is there ever? I tell him about keeping up with our old routine and he tells me of the people he's met in Dauntless.

Eventually, Tobias has to leave and I need to get to sleep. Standing up, we hug goodbye. After all these years you could say we're the masters. My small frame fits perfectly into his larger one and we stand there for a few minutes before he pulls away.

As his new way of saying goodbye, he kisses me on the forehead and turns to leave. Closing my window behind him, I climb into bed and fall into a dreamless sleep.

_Aptitude Test Day_

_Three factions?_ I have an aptitude for _three_ factions? I can't quite wrap my head around it. Of course now, sitting in my room after being sent back early I remember Tobias' aptitude test and how Marcus told him what to do. Why didn't I remember that beforehand?

I was distributed the test by Tori, a Dauntless. She manually recorded my results as Abnegation and, if anyone asks, I was sent home because the serum made me sick. I know I'm Divergent and, to be honest, that scares me. I can't tell anyone, not even my parents.

Is this how Tobias felt after his test? Uneasy and anxious? Still, tomorrow I choose Dauntless, finally able to have fun and enjoy my life. Finally able to see Tobias again. Then again, I don't want any rumors to start about my family and what it's like here. But I can't stay; it's too stifling. The thought of living here for the rest of my life is unthinkable.

Before I head to bed, Caleb stops me in the hall, probably detecting my uneasiness.

"Beatrice?"

"Yes?"

"Tomorrow, at the Choosing Ceremony? I know we need to think of the family, but we also need to think of ourselves."

Clearly he sees that my mind is wandering in a million different directions and I can't help but wonder what he's thinking about or why he said that. Was it to reassure me? Or to reassure himself? Closing his door, the last I see of his room is a multitude of books crammed behind his dresser.

Crawling into my own bed, I think about today and what's to come. I think about the test, transferring, how my parents will feel, what Dauntless will be like and Tobias. _I get to see him tomorrow_. No sneaky visits. I think about everything and what's about to change.

Needless to say, it was a restless night.


	8. Chapter 8

**So much for having this up on Thursday night. My Wi-Fi has been out for the past three days. Sorry guys! **

**I hope you all enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Divergent **

I wake feeling groggy and completely exhausted from getting so little sleep. The smell of cooking eggs gets me out of bed to get ready. I need to be at least somewhat alert for one of the biggest days of my life.

Walking downstairs, I see that my mother has not only cooked eggs for breakfast, but pancakes as well. Generally they are reserved for a special occasion and, as it is our choosing day, I see why she made them. _Yummy._

The morning is the same routine: eat breakfast, finish getting ready and walk out of the house. But today, today we choose where we'll be for the rest of our lives and, instead of heading to school we head off to the Ceremony.

As I walk into the Choosing Ceremony I begin to feel anxious. I'm excited to choose Dauntless, but unlike Tobias, I love my family and I worry about what will happen to them after I leave. _They have Caleb. _He's always been the perfect Abnegation. I know he won't transfer. At least they wont be without both of us.

Quickly I remind myself that my transferring has nothing to do with them; it's about me. I'm doing this for myself. Not to mention that surviving in Abnegation without Tobias hasn't been easy. I couldn't do it for the rest of my life.

Before my parents find their seats they pull us in to hug us, giving us silent encouragement like they always have. Even though I have no doubt that they assume we'll be choosing Abnegation, they still know that this is a big day for both of us.

"I'll see you both afterwards," My father says, smiling, confident. I hate disappointing him but I can't help but worry that he'll hate me for leaving. But before I can think too much about it, my mother pulls me into a tight hug.

"I love you. No matter what," She whispers in my ear. Pulling back, I try to scrutinize her expression. Did she hint that she's fine if I switched? Winking, she pulls up her sleeve slightly, revealing the handle of one of the knives that Tobias and I have used all these years, the coloring a dead giveaway. _What?_

My eyes shoot up to hers, completely shocked, silently asking her how she knew. Instead of answering my silent questioning she simply says, "Make the best choice for _you_. It doesn't matter to me either way. Tell Tobias I say hello." At this my jaw drops to the floor, but I quickly recover.

Smiling, she lets go of my hand and follows my father to their seats. In a daze, I follow Caleb, unable to absorb what just happened. How did she find out?

Switching gears as I sit, I scan the Dauntless, looking for Tobias but I don't see him. _Why isn't he here?_ At first I think that maybe he's just injured or he slept in. Then, naturally, as the ceremony begins, my thoughts begin to run away with me like they've been tending to do lately.

What if he doesn't want to see me? What if he _died_? And finally I fear that he went to join his mother after all. _Tris stop! _I know I'm being ridiculous and the nerves are making me jumpy. Focus. You're over reacting.

Having been lost in my own thoughts, I realize that Marcus has already begun to read off the names of this year's initiates having already read off the faction manifestos and the reason for the development of our system.

"Oliver Williams," As he walks forward, I notice that he's Erudite. Like so many others, he looks nervous. Slicing his hand, he walks over to the bowl and quickly chooses Amity. He's the first transfer.

Pushing any worries I have about Tobias and any confusion I have about my mother aside, I finally feel that sense of excitement at what awaits in Dauntless. I jump back into reality when Caleb's name is called. I'm next. This is it.

Walking up to the bowls, Caleb confidently takes his knife from Marcus and slices his hand. Taking a deep breath and reaching forward, he tilts his hand into the Erudite bowl, a drop of blood hitting the water. _What?_ No. He was always the perfect Abnegation. Always. How is he transferring? Suddenly, the image of his dresser from last night comes back into my mind. Books. Why didn't I see it before? He's been hiding things, just as I have with Tobias. Now I know what he meant when he said to think of ourselves.

For the second time in two years, the room is filled with murmurs. Another Abnegation transferred. I don't dare look at my parents, knowing that, like me, they must be completely surprised.

"Beatrice Prior." Marcus says. Nervously I rise from my chair, still in shock at Caleb's decision. The room is so quiet that you could hear a pin drop; everyone wants to know what I'll do, curious to see if _both_ siblings will transfer.

Taking a deep breath, I take the knife from Marcus, looking him straight in the eye; for the first time I notice that they are the same color as Tobias'. Walking towards the bowls, my mother's words come back to me._ I love you. No matter what. _

Slicing my hand quickly, I walk forward and stop right between two of the bowls: Dauntless and Abnegation. Closing my eyes in determination, I move my hand forward towards the hot coals of Dauntless and hear my blood sizzle on the coals. _I did it. _I realize that I could have stayed for my family but I can't. This is about _me._ This is something that I've wanted for so many years.

The first things I hear are the astonished gasps of the crowd, no doubt in shock that two Abnegation have transferred. No, two _siblings_. I don't hear the murmurs for long; they are quickly drowned out by the cheering and stomping of Dauntless, my new faction. _Oh my God I'm in Dauntless!_ Finally, after all these years, I can finally say that I'm here. Smiling, I walk over to them, trying not to look towards my parents. I can feel my father's stare boring into the back of my head, no doubt trying to understand.

After a few claps on the back and a couple of handshakes I sit down and turn my attention back to the front and find Marcus still staring at me, his expression one of recognition. In that brief instant, however short it may be, part of me believes that something clicked in him; that there's now a part of him that knows there was more than just the standard cordiality between his son and I. But I'm not certain. I'd like to believe that I'm right.

I barely listen to the rest of the ceremony, watching mindlessly as the rest of the names are read off. I only jump back into reality when the ceremony ends and everyone begins to stand. Falling in step I follow the rest of the Dauntless but before I turn the corner, I turn back and look towards my parents, wanting to see them one last time.

While my mother smiles, I immediately find my father. In that brief couple of seconds, I catch so many emotions cross his face, the most predominant ones being disappointment, sadness, anger and fear. There is so much in that one look. It's the last thing I see before I turn the corner, following the other initiates.

As soon as I turn the corner, everyone around me breaks into a sprint as we descend the stairs. Unlike the Abnegation, there's recklessness about it, a sense of freedom. There is no monotony or cordiality and I love it. It isn't long before I feel the burning in my lungs that comes from running, a sensation I've always enjoyed. Pouring out into the streets, everyone heads for the train tracks, still running, and looks for the coming train.

A few seconds later, it turns around the bend, slowing as it nears the tracks. Having watched the Dauntless do this for years, I'm excited. I finally get to do this myself. While I know I won't get it right at first, I'm still ready, dying to do it.

"Everybody get ready!" Someone yells. As it nears, everyone breaks into a run, coming up alongside the train. One by one, everyone jumps on. Some less experienced, mainly initiates, slam into the car on their sides, obviously not used to this form of transportation.

Feeling my muscles contract, I grab the handrail and hoist myself in with the other initiates. Standing, I turn back around and laugh. _That was fun. _As I lean partially out of the train car, I look back and see one initiate still trying to get on the train. As he tries to get a good grip on one of the handrails, the train begins to pick up speed. He can't catch up. Dropping to his knees at the end of the platform, he puts his head in his hands. He's Factionless.

Backing into the train car, I sit down, catching my breath. "Where do you think they're taking us?" A voice asks next to me. Turning to face her, I take in her appearance. Candor. She's skinny with dark features, dark hair and brown eyes. "Dauntless Headquarters I imagine," I say back, breathlessly.

"It's not every day that you see an Abnegation transfer. I'm Christina." She smiles, almost shocked to see me here. Figures.

"Tris. Nice to meet you." I respond. Still catching our breath, we sit side by side, looking out over the terrain and the city passing us in a blur.

The rest of the ride is quiet. I close my eyes and think about what's to come. I can't wait to get there. I find myself thinking about initiation and what will happen. I also think about Tobias. What is he doing right now? Is he even there? There's a part of me that really does worry that he chose to talk to his mother, regardless of his reaction to finding out she was alive all those months ago.

"Everybody get ready! We're jumping off." A Dauntless says, snapping me out of my thoughts.

Rising to my feet, I peer out of the side of the car. We're jumping onto a _roof?_ Okay. People begin to jump off and, turning to me, Christina nervously says, "Together?"

"Together." Grabbing hands, we jump. For a second there is a feeling of weightlessness before we hit the roof, rolling. After brushing off the gravel and laughing, we gather with the rest of the initiates, both transfers and Dauntless borns, and walk towards a Dauntless member waiting for us on the other side of the roof.

"Listen up! My name is Max. I am one of the leaders here in Dauntless." As he says this, he begins to pace the ledge of the roof. "Seven stories below us rests the Dauntless compound. To enter, you must jump off this ledge and meet your new faction below."

"What if we don't want to jump?" One of the kids asks. Turning to face him, Max speaks in a very stern, authoritative voice, "Then you don't belong with us, and you will be Factionless."

Now everyone peers to look over the ledge, looking down into a dark hole, unable to see what lies below. "What do you think is down there?" One kid asks.

"Who's first?" Max asks, ignoring the question, not wanting to waste any time.

I know that if I don't do this now, I may not be able to so, before I can give it too much thought, I volunteer. "Me." Is all I say. Twenty pairs of eyes are suddenly on me, varying degrees of surprise registering on everyone's faces. _Yeah, yeah, I get it. No one would expect a Stiff to jump first. _

Clambering onto the ledge I look down. Unbuttoning my overcoat, I take it off as the wind buffers my body. "Look at that, a Stiff showing some skin," A boy shouts from behind me. Rolling my eyes, I throw my jacket at him and he catches it. Returning my attention to what's in front of me, for the first time I see how far down the drop is. If Tobias had to do this, I seriously doubt he went first. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he went last.

Taking a deep breath, not thinking about it, I jump off of the ledge. Feeling the rush of the wind and my stomach rising into my chest, I fall, weightless. Tensing my body for the impending impact, I hit something. At first it's hard, but then it cradles my body. _A net! _Letting go of a hysterical laugh, I relax. _Whoa, talk about an adrenaline rush. _

Grabbing the first hand I see, I'm hoisted from the net and I plop down on my feet, finally in the Dauntless compound. Looking up, I meet a pair of dark blue eyes, eyes I would know anywhere. _Tobias._ He's here. Thank God. Immediately, my face breaks into a huge smile as I take him in, clearly okay and standing right in front of me.

I can tell that he's trying to keep a straight face, reigning in his excitement, as he says, "Name?" What, really? Then it clicks; he's keeping up pretenses for everyone else. Cocking an eyebrow, he looks at me, slightly shaking his head and asks again. "Oh…uhh…Tris. My name is Tris."

"Make the announcement Four." _Who's Four?_

"First jumper, Tris!" he exclaims. "Welcome to Dauntless." Wait, huh? As he guides me over to the side, I give him a questioning look. "Later," he whispers, turning back to the net just as a screaming Christina drops into it.

After everyone is off of the roof and standing off to the side, Tobias turns back around, pacing in front of everyone. "Alright! Dauntless borns follow Lauren, transfers stay with me. I assume _you_ don't need a tour of the place."

Quickly, everyone separates and soon it's just the transfers and Tobias left. "Usually I work in the Dauntless control room here at the compound, but for the next three weeks I am your instructor. My name is Four." He's our instructor? Yes! "Four, like the number?" Christina asks.

"Yes. Is there a problem?" Tobias responds sternly, raising an eyebrow. When she doesn't say anything, Tobias continues, "Good. Follow me." Turning down a dark corridor, Tobias leads the group. Most of the transfers watch their feet on the uneven ground, not wanting to trip. Before too long, we enter a vast space, pathways working up the sides. The area is filed with shops and bustling with people all looking at us. On one end is a railing, blocking off what appears to be some sort of cavern or water source.

"This is the Pit, the center of life here in Dauntless."

"The Pit?" Christina interrupts, "Clever name." Breaking his stride, Tobias stops and turns to face her. Getting close to her face, he just glares at her for a minute. "What's your name?" He questions her. "Christina." She replies meekly.

"Well Christina, if I wanted to put up with Candor smart mouths I would have joined their faction. The first thing you learn from me is to keep your mouth _shut."_ He says menacingly. _Damn._ For the first time in, well, ever, I glance at him skeptically, trying to decipher his behavior as he turns and begins to walk over to the railing at the other end of the pit. Is he always like this here?

Turning back to face us, he begins to speak again. "This is the chasm. It reminds us that there is a fine line between bravery and idiocy! A jump off of the ledge will end your life. It has happened before and it will happen again." Everyone looks over the ledge down to the rushing water and the jagged rocks blow.

"Incredible," someone exclaims.

After a few seconds he turns, leading us across the Pit towards one of the many pathways leading to a gaping hole in the wall. Not for the first time, I notice that there are no railings, allowing for someone to easily fall were they not able to maneuver themselves down the path.

As we gain height, the boy from the roof, who I later learned was Peter, purposely trips me, causing me to fall over the ledge and grip onto the edge so I wont fall to my death. With sly grin, he tries to step on my fingers. Quickly, Tobias grabs my arm and hauls me back over, fear in his eyes as he gives me a once over, making sure that I'm okay.

His fear quickly turns to anger as he turns towards Peter. "Second thing you'll learn. _Never_ try to sabotage another initiate." He says menacingly, stalking towards him. "Sabotaging another shows cowardice, something we do not accept here in Dauntless. If you feel threatened by another's ability, Work. Harder. If you don't like someone, get over it. Making mistakes like that will guarantee you a one way trip to the Factionless sector." Now Tobias is right in his face, clearly scaring the others. "Understood?" He whispers.

"Understood." Peter says, never flinching. I don't believe him. I don't think Tobias does either. With one more glance towards me, I nod my head, reassuring Tobias before he turns back around.

We continue walking and soon enter the Dauntless dining hall. We are all greeted by cheers from everyone as they welcome us. The noise is deafening and infectious. Beaming, Christina and I make to find seats, settling for a table with two other transfers, Will and Al. A few seconds later Tobias joins us and everyone tenses except for me. It looks like Christina's not the only one who's scared of him.

In the middle of the table is a platter of food that I've never seen before. Hesitantly, I poke it with my fork, unsure as to what it is. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Tobias try to stifle a laugh. After the limited meals in Abnegation this is new, very new.

"Are you serious? You've never had a hamburger before?" Christina asks me incredulously.

Shrugging, Tobias responds as I'm still evaluating the foreign meat, "Stiffs eat plain food. This would be self-indulgent." Turning to me as I put one on my plate, Tobias hands me a bowl of red sauce. "They're good. Here, put this on it."

"Wow. No wonder you left." Christina says. Deciding to humor her, I laugh, "Yeah, it was just for the food." Everyone laughs.

For a few minutes, everyone is quiet, enjoying the meal. Tobias watches me as I take the first bite. _Holy crap._ This is good. Really good. Everyone at the table laughs as I enthusiastically dig in along with everyone else.

A few seconds later, a hush falls on the room. Turning, I watch as a menacing looking guy with a face full of piercings, long dark hair and an abundance of tattoos walks to our table. His eyes are cold, lifeless, carrying a harsh glint. Sitting down right beside Tobias, he harshly claps him on the back.

"So, what have you been up to, Four? Max told me he keeps trying to meet with you but you keep turning him down." Meet with him about what? I wonder, listening to their conversation.

"Tell him that my decision still stands; I'm not taking it." Clearly, Tobias isn't his biggest fan and wants him to leave. Then again, I don't think that anyone is. Turning towards us, and giving us a once over, he says, "Well, aren't you going to introduce me?"

"Eric, this is Tris, Christina, Al and Will." Tobias sighs, reluctantly.

"Ooh a Stiff! I wonder how long you'll last." He says as he notices my attire, smiling. Well, more like grimaces. I'm a lot stronger than I look and, just as I'm about to say something, Tobias kicks my leg under the table, clearly warning me to keep my mouth shut. He knows I'd like to make a retort. Glancing down, I see Tobias' hand is tightly gripping his fork, his knuckles white. He didn't like that comment either.

Standing, Eric looks back at Tobias and claps him on the back once more, "I'll tell Max. Maybe he'll get the message this time." Everyone at the table watches as he walks away. Christina is the first to speak, her Candor curiosity, once again, shining through.

"Who was _that?_" She asks, turning back to the table.

"His name is Eric. He's a Dauntless leader." Tobias responds.

"But he's so young!"

"Age doesn't matter here." Tobias says, standing and effectively ending that conversation. "Transfers, follow me."

Getting up, we all discard our trays and follow Tobias out of the dining hall. Turning down a few corridors, Tobias leads us to a door and, opening it, leads us inside. The room is filled with bunk beds, ten in total. We all file into the room and turn to face Tobias.

"Before I leave, there are some ground rules. Every morning you are to be in the training room at eight o'clock sharp. Training runs from eight in the morning to six in the evenings with a break for lunch. After six you can do whatever you please. Breakfast will be served in the dining hall.

"Secondly, upon arrival you have been given a certain amount of points. These can be used in the shops in the pit to buy what you like: clothes, tattoos, food, whatever. But spend it wisely. I suggest you soon decide to get rid of your old factions' clothing. You're in Dauntless now, act like it. I'll see you all tomorrow morning."

Turning to leave, Tobias stops at the door and turns around. "Tris, I need to speak with you." I go to follow him but before I do, Christina whispers, "Good luck!" Clearly, he scares her. Well, he scares everyone except for me.

Following Tobias out into the hallway, he turns and goes down several passageways, causing me to lose track of where we're going. He doesn't say anything and, after a few minutes, we reach a door. Tobias takes out a key and, opening the door, Tobias ushers me inside. Looking around I see that we're in a small apartment.

There is sleeping space with a double bed, a living room, kitchen and bathroom. Painted on one of the walls are the words: Fear God Alone. Clearly this is Tobias' apartment. Turning towards me, Tobias sweeps me up in his arms, excitedly, spinning me just a bit.

"You're here. Thank God!" He exclaims, setting me down on my feet. "I've missed you," he adds, releasing me.

"I've missed you too. I was worried when I didn't see you at the Choosing Ceremony. Is that why you weren't there? Because you're an instructor?" I ask him, hoping I'm right. Nodding his head, Tobias says, "Yeah. I had to be here at the net. I can't believe you jumped first!"

"I knew if I didn't do it then, it would be harder the longer I waited. When did you jump?" I ask curiously, remembering that I wondered the same thing this morning. Snorting, Tobias tells me that he jumped last. Figures, he hates heights. Sitting down together on his couch, I ask him another question.

"Okay, another thing, what was that out there? I've never seen you act like that." I say, thinking back to his hard demeanor around the compound, blocking everyone out. I already have so many questions to ask him and I haven't even been here for six hours. Hopefully I wont overwhelm him.

Rubbing his hand on the back of his neck, he smiles sheepishly, "It's part of training. I have to be tough as an instructor. I can't allow for any leeway and I've been told not to get close with any of the initiates," _too late for that_, I think. "I have to be hard on everyone, toughen them up, sometimes break them down and clearly, some of them need it."

"Oh okay that makes sense. In a way it's not _too_ different from how closed off you were around Abnegation. It's just more…I don't know, tough, authoritative. I'm pretty sure Christina's terrified of you." I laugh.

Tobias laughs with me, remembering how scared she looked when he got in her face. "Good. She needs to get over her transparent honesty and gain a better brain to mouth function." I have to say I agree with him. She says anything that comes to her mind. Then again, she _was_ Candor.

We stay quiet for a couple minutes, enjoying each other's company, finally together again. Then I remember another thing I was curious about. "So what's with the whole Four thing?" I ask. Honestly, I'm not sure what to call him during initiation. It would be weird for me to call him Tobias when everyone else calls him Four. No doubt that would raise a lot of questions, and not just from Christina.

"Oh yeah. Hopefully I can explain this. Later in initiation, you'll go through your fear landscape. Basically, you face your worst fears one by one. When I was here, it was the first part of training. The average number is ten but some can have as many as twenty."

"And you had four? That's where the name comes from?" I say smiling, figuring out where this is going.

Nodding his head, smiling, Tobias continues, "My instructor, Amar, was so impressed that he immediately started calling me Four. Apparently it's the lowest number they've ever had. I don't think anyone here even remembers my real name anymore." He says with a smile. I still remember that conversation all those years ago about changing our names. He wasn't sure how he could do it but, obviously, he has.

"So, at least during training, call you Four?" I guess. As far as everyone knows, we've never even met before. "Yes, definitely. But when we're alone call me Tobias. It's nice to hear it again." He says.

Standing up, he turns back to me remembering something, " Oh, in training, I'll have to be as difficult with you as with everyone else. What I'm saying is, don't get too angry if you think I'm being too difficult or harsh; it just comes with the territory."

"Alright. But weren't we already hard on each other _before_ we transferred?" I ask, smiling. I get it; he has to be tough instructor Four, at least for now. Laughing, he takes my hand and pulls me up. "True." Glancing at his watch, he grimaces.

"I'll walk you back to the end of your hallway. You've been gone for about half an hour. I'm sure they're wondering where you are." Geez! Half an hour? Knowing Christina, she probably thinks that he killed me at this point. "I wish you could stay longer but, for now, that's probably not the best idea." I understand. How would it look if he spent all his time with an initiate when he can't technically be close with them? Besides, I just got here.

On the way back, I quickly duck into a store while Tobias waits and I buy some black clothes for tomorrow, not wanting to wear the Abnegation grey; I can use it as part of my explanation for the inevitable interrogation I'll get from Christina. When we reach the end of the hall where the transfers are staying, Tobias and I hug goodbye and he turns to leave, saying that he'll see me tomorrow morning.

Entering the dormitory, I see that a lot of people are gone, no doubt finding their way around the pit, spending their points. Personally, I want to wait until tomorrow. After having a rough night last night, I could use the rest. Unfortunately, I know that wont happen at least for a few minutes. Sitting at the end of my bed is Christina; obviously wanting to ask what that was about.

"You were gone for 30 minutes; I thought he was going to kill you! What did he want?" Yep, sure enough, Christina wanted to know everything. _Candor._

"No, he didn't try to kill me. Geez! It's not like he's a monster. He's our instructor." Quickly I try to think of a reason he would need to speak with me. I don't exactly want to explain to her that we've been best friends for almost seven years, especially since no one knows where he came from. I know he doesn't want that broadcasted.

"He wanted to caution me. Obviously, people already see me as a weak link, namely Peter. As a 'Stiff', I'll have to step it up, whatever. He was basically asking if I was okay. I got lost on the way back but I found the Pit and after looking around for a bit I bought some clothes to wear."

Hopefully, she'll buy it. In Candor, they're pros at picking up on lies and right now, all I want is some decent sleep. Looking around the room, I see that a couple of initiates are already in bed. Only about four are still out.

"Good. When you left I was beginning to think you had a death wish. You didn't even bat an eye. I would have been hesitant to follow him. And don't think that I didn't catch your _almost _retort back to Eric at dinner." She says sternly. "Why did you look so pissed anyway?"

"I just don't like for people to assume that I'm weak. I'm small, I get it; but I'm not incapable. People tend to think that because I'm a girl or a Stiff that I can't do anything, but I can surprise you." I smile.

"That reminds me, what do you think training will be like?" Christina asks. "I'm interested to see what everyone can do." As I think about it, I feel like I have somewhat of an idea, but not much.

"I have no idea. We'll probably be doing something with guns and weapons, definitely fighting but I guess we'll see tomorrow wont we?" I say, turning to face her. I don't tell her about the fear landscapes. I don't think anyone really knows about those. I'm not even supposed to know yet.

"Probably," she says with a yawn, "Anyway, I wanted to check that you were okay. I'm going to get a quick shower before going to bed. If we have to get up so early I want a decent night's sleep. Eight in the morning. They've got to be out of their minds." Shaking her head, she gets up, grabs her towel and heads for the door, waving at me on her way out.

Turning to get ready for bed, I roll my eyes. Personally, I was completely fine with 8 a.m. Back in Abnegation I was up at seven on a regular day and got up even earlier on days that I had to volunteer. I can't remember ever sleeping in like the kids in the other factions.

After brushing my teeth and throwing on my pajamas I climb into bed, completely exhausted. Rolling over, I slide the covers up over me and, no doubt from all the excitement and my lack of sleep last night, I'm out within seconds.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! I am so sorry that this is so late! Three exams, one historical renovation project, two interviews, an orientation, and one seventy-page analysis paper later, I can finally put up another chapter. (Exam week is awful. Thank GOD I'm done!)**

**Luckily, the worst is over so no more delays. Enjoy! **

At seven am exactly I wake up from the most restful night's sleep I've had in a while. A few people are already up, but not doing anything but sitting in bed. When the sounds of a few initiates snoring hits my ears, I wonder how I even slept; no doubt it was from the pure exhaustion from yesterday.

Getting up, I grab a change of clothes and a towel and head to the bathroom for a quick shower. I'm not exactly a fan of the communal women's restroom but, for now, I'll have to deal with it. Fifteen minutes later I've showered, changed and put my hair up in a ponytail, excited that I no longer have to have it in the standard Abnegation bun.

Walking back into the dormitory, I see that almost everyone is now awake and trudging around getting ready. Some have gone to get showers and others have decided to simply change clothes before going to breakfast.

"Good morning," Christina yawns, walking at a snails pace over to my bunk. Glancing up after tying my shoes, I see that she's completely dressed but not anywhere close to being able to function. I guess you could say that she's up, but she's not _awake_.

"Morning. Want to grab something to eat before training?" I ask, thinking she could use the food and noticing the growling in my own stomach. I know I wont make it till lunch today.

"Please. I need to be somewhat alert this morning. I don't want to blindly go through the first day," She yawns again, slurring the end of her sentence.

Leaving the dormitory, we find the dining hall and, wanting to explore the Pit for a few minutes before training, we each grab a muffin and head out the door. I didn't see Tobias anywhere. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Christina eye me speculatively. Obviously, Abnegation's lack of tasty food has her fascinated.

"Oh come on. I've had a muffin before." I say, rolling my eyes. We weren't deprived from _everything_ in Abnegation. But I do leave out the fact that those muffins were mostly bran, not the rather large blueberry, chocolate chip, and banana nut ones they had in the dining hall this morning.

"Okay, okay." Christina laughs.

On our way to the training room, we run into the rest of the initiates and, as a group, we walk in together. I'm not happy with the sight before me. It's not the guns laid across the table, the targets, the ammunition or Tobias. It's Eric. Why is he here? After having only one encounter with him, I already see him as a menacing, heartless bastard. _This should be interesting._

All of us move to stand in a line, not saying a word. Tobias can be tough, but Eric is like a ticking time bomb. No one wants to piss him off. Behind Eric stands Tobias. Arms crossed, he leans up against the wall, his eyes trained on Eric.

"Initiates," Eric almost growls, "for those of you who don't know, my name is Eric; I'm one of the Dauntless leaders here. I'll be overseeing some of your training."

Stifling a groan of frustration, I glance back over to Tobias. A scowl now covers his features as he glares at Eric. Clearly he's not happy about this either. The other initiates tense up at the news that he'll be here. Tobias, excuse me, _Four _is one thing, but Eric is someone no one wants to deal with.

"Before you get started, there are some basics you need to know. First, at the end of each stage you will be ranked along with your opponents. While you are training separately from the Dauntless born, you will be ranked together. The lowest ranking initiates at the end of each phase will become Factionless and not move on with the rest – "

"What?" Christina asks. "But that's not –"

"Fair?" Eric asks, laughing mirthlessly. Everyone has mixed expressions of dread and anxiety. Some of us will be eliminated? _No. _For the past several years I've been dying to get here. For the past two, I've been waiting to be with Tobias again. I'm _not _leaving.

Like Tobias did yesterday, Eric gets up in her face. Only this time, it's far more menacing, more like someone going after his prey. "Are you saying that if you knew what was at stake you wouldn't have chosen Dauntless? We don't take too kindly to _cowardice._" He hisses.

Backing up he starts to pace in front of the group, staring down every one of us. "You chose us; now we have to choose you. I suggest you make the most of your time before lunch. I'll be back this afternoon." With that he stalks off, slamming the door on his way out.

Turning back around, I see Tobias still scowling at the closed door. Quickly, he hides it, slipping back into instructor mode as he walks towards us and the table lined with guns. With his arms crossed and a hard expression on his face, he begins to speak.

"There are three stages of training. The first is primarily physical, the second mental and the last stage combines the previous two. Each stage weighs heavier than the previous in your rankings, the third being the most important. Although extremely difficult to improve your rankings in stage two, it is possible but highly unlikely. Pay attention."

Moving over to the table with the guns, Tobias picks one up, loading three bullets into the chamber and walks over to one of the targets. Explaining the proper stance, the way to hold the gun and how to prepare for the recoil, Tobias demonstrates how to shoot, the sound reverberating through the room.

"Any questions?" He asks, turning back to face us. Shaking our heads, he walks back over to the table and drops a small bag of earplugs down beside the guns.

"Everyone grab a gun and pick a target to practice. Grab a pair of earplugs to muffle the sound. Go," he says as he backs up. Everyone but me practically runs to the table. I don't see what the big deal is; the guns are all the same. As I walk over, I glance over to Tobias who cocks an eyebrow and smirks at me, as if saying, "let's see what you can do." I smirk back. He'll always push me and I like it. I _know_ he'll be harder now in Dauntless.

Grabbing a gun I head over to a target. It feels foreign in my hand. It's weird to know that I'm wielding a weapon that could kill someone. Quickly I put the earplugs in, muffling any excess noise. Taking the proper stance, I look to my right and see almost everyone has started shooting, many unsuccessful at hitting the target. Tobias is going behind everyone giving them pointers on how to change their stance or better their aim, often times evaluating them from head to toe before giving instructions.

Turning back towards my target, I get into the stance that Tobias showed us and shoot. Well I _thought_ it was the proper stance. The force of the shot throws my body back. I was obviously not tensed for the impact and my feet weren't planted correctly. _Darn it._

Before I can get back into position, I feel Tobias come up behind me, obviously closer to me than he's been with the other initiates. Placing his hands on my shoulders, he squeezes gently and moves them back a little, whispering in my ear. Well…I _think_ he's whispering. The earplugs make it hard to tell.

"Pull your shoulders back just a little so you're standing straighter," he says as he moves his hand down my arm, grasping my forearm. I'm trying to pay attention; I really am, but his breath coming fast on my neck and the spark I just felt from where he touched me are trying to hold my attention. _What was that?_

As I hold the gun, he pulls my arms up a little more and I feel his heartbeat pick up in his fingertips as he says, "Hold this just a little higher and widen your stance."

I do what he says, widening my feet a little. "Good. Now plant your feet," he says, his lips brushing the shell of my ear. _Oh my God. Focus, Tris. _"Shoot."

I shoot with Tobias' hand still on my arm and, while it's not near the center, it hits the target. I smile as Tobias says, "Great. Keep practicing." As he backs away, he drags his hand back up my arm slowly and moves to the next initiate.

I let go of the breath I didn't know I was holding as I feel the tingle his fingers left behind and the warmth now absent from my back. We've touched and hugged before but it's never felt like _that._ While I've always loved being with him, wrapping my arm around his bicep and hugging him, I've never felt bereft and wanting more. How can one, _one_ simple touch do that? I conclude that it's just because I haven't seen him in a while.

Forcing myself to refocus my attention on training, I get back in the stance that Tobias just showed me, aim and shoot, more prepared for the recoil. _Yes!_ I hit the target, this shot a little closer to the center than the last.

For the next hour, all of us work on our aim, each one of us visibly improving. Tobias wasn't kidding; the knife throwing we've done over the years really does help. By the time lunch rolls around, Peter, Edward, Drew and I are doing the best in regards to aim. All three of us can easily hit the center ring and know how to stand. Christina looks a little jealous, no doubt she was thinking that, coming from Abnegation, I'd be falling behind the rest or at least be more hesitant about holding a gun.

Just before lunch, Tobias makes his final rounds before dismissing us, pausing behind each initiate to give minor pointers. Al and Myra are the farthest behind. Al stands almost awkwardly with the gun, unsure of himself. Meanwhile, it becomes clear that Myra only transferred for Edward, having only hit the target twice. Poor girl.

Stopping behind me, Tobias moves my arms slightly and touches the small of my back as he says, "Just move your arms a little more and you're perfect." Again, I feel that slight tingle when he touches me and I unintentionally hold my breath. I can't help but wonder if he feels it too but, all too soon, he's gone and has moved on to Will. Turning back to face the target, I finish out my round, place my gun on the table and move to head off to lunch.

BREAK

Leaving the dining hall with Christina, we talk about training this morning and how we felt about it, both of us anxious to see how different it'll be when Eric is there. Remembering something, she suddenly speaks up.

"Oh! I meant to ask you, what was that whole thing with Four all about this morning?" _Dang Candor curiosity. _Instead of answering her, I choose to play dumb.

"What are you talking about?" I ask, hoping she'll drop it. Even when she's supposed to be focusing on her own target she seems to notice everything.

"Come on. He was practically on top of you when he was helping you with your gun. It looked like some weird embrace or something. I would have freaked out! He's unnerving." Nope, definitely not dropping it. _Think. _Now is not the time to tell her how close we are.

"It was nothing. Since I'm so small, he had to show me a different way to plant my feet and hold my arms to brace for the recoil, that's all." I try to say nonchalantly. I know it's probably a feeble lie, but it's the best I've got. Clearly, he wasn't like that with the other initiates.

"Speaking of, how the _hell_ are you so good at that? We'd been working for all of an hour and you almost had perfect aim! Peter and Drew looked pissed. But they probably had the assumption that you'd fail out in the first stage, no offense." She adds quickly.

"None taken. I get it. I'm small. But remember, I can surprise you." I say smiling. I already know the assumptions made about anyone from Abnegation; I'm more than used to them at this point.

"Clearly." She laughs, pushing the door open to the training room. Having gotten back a little early, the only ones in the room besides the two of us are: Will, Al, Edward and Myra. Tobias is off by the table, restocking ammunition and earplugs for everyone, ignoring everyone else in the room.

I do my best to ignore Edward and Myra. They're in the back corner of the room clearly making out. _Gross. _

"You're Abnegation is showing," Will smirks in a singsong voice, glancing down at me, arms crossed.

"Sorry. It's just…weird, I guess." Having been so used to seeing little to no physical contact between anyone in Abnegation, seeing them makes me a little uncomfortable.

"That's so weird. I mean, what's it like there anyway? No good food, no physical contact or even _friends_, must be boring." Will says, shuddering.

Grinning I look back at him, "Why do you think I left?"

"True. Clearly you don't fit the type to stay there. Look at you this morning; you were better than basically everyone. What's your secret," he asks clearly interested.

_Years of practicing with knives in secret with my best friend and working on getting prepared for Dauntless. _"Beginner's luck? Honestly, I don't know. I just found a way that worked for me and ran with it I guess." I shrug.

Out of the corner of my eye I can see that while Tobias is still focusing on setting up new targets and getting everything ready, he's listening. I'm careful not to let my eyes focus too much on him though.

Beside us, the door to the room swings open and in walks everyone else, Eric right behind them. Awesome.

"Everyone grab a gun and start practicing. Go!" Eric snarls, startling most of us.

Getting back into position, we all quickly put our earplugs back in and start shooting, Eric and Tobias watching us, looking to see what needs to be changed. Or in Eric's case, he's probably looking for the first person he'll murder.

For a few minutes, nothing is said as we all get back into the groove of shooting. Oddly enough, it's already starting to feel natural to hold a gun in my hand and aim at the target. Part of that scares me a little. Then again, being in Dauntless, I _need _to get used to it.

"Pull it together initiate! You've had all _morning_ to get this. You should have hit the target more than a couple of times at this point. Jesus!" Eric shouts at Al. _Great._ Al may be big, but he's like a big teddy bear. I worry that he's too kind for Dauntless.

When Al doesn't reply, Eric moves down the line and focuses in on the others. He yells at a couple more. Seriously? It's like he loves the sound of his own voice. He's not even giving advice on how to improve. Stopping at me, he looks me up and down and glances towards my target. Pulling his lower lip between his fingers he moves so he's almost in front of me.

"What is it with the Abnegation transfers doing well in initiation? Aren't all of you supposed to be selfless, not able to do anything useful outside of your so-called charity outings? What, do they have secret self defense classes?" Clearly the question was rhetorical but I find myself answering anyway before I can hold my comment back.

"No. You know, not all of us belong there. Maybe if you spent more time helping us instead of fitting us into the stereotypes of our old factions and yelling at us you'd be more useful." _Crap._ Why do I choose the worst moments to say what I think? Christina's head snaps in my direction. Beside Eric, Will looks at me, waiting to hear what Eric says. Heck, _I'm _surprised that I said that.

Squinting his eyes, Eric rubs his fingers along his jaw, "Interesting," he says, shaking his head. Wait, what? Moving my eyes from my target to him, I see that his expression has changed. He's looking at me like I'm a puzzle he's trying to figure out, like he may see something in me that he doesn't like.

Cocking an eyebrow, he moves on. I look over at Will as he mouths, "What the hell," with wide eyes. I shrug and he shakes his head, looking back towards his target.

A few minutes later, Tobias reaches me. Instead of giving me any pointers, he gives me a hard glare and a slight shake of his head. He's clearly not happy with that little interaction. All he does is whisper, "Watch it," into my ear, a tome of warning and fear in his voice as he walks away.

The rest of the afternoon is filled with working with various guns on shooting at the target. While each one is different, it doesn't take long to get used to any of them. Even with the earplugs in, we can all hear Eric screaming at someone at some point over the sounds of gunshots.

By the time dinner rolls around, all of us are eager to leave and eat. While lunch was good, it wasn't enough to sustain us for too long and we are all anxious to get away from Eric's wrath. I'm more anxious to get away from his ever-present glare on my back.

Walking out, Al slings an arm around my shoulders.

"You know, I'm beginning to agree with Christina."

"And why is that?" I ask.

"I think you have a death wish. I can't believe you snapped at Eric like that," he laughs.

Laughing with him I say, "What about you? I'm surprised you _didn't _with him yelling at you."

"That, Tris, is because the man scares me shitless. I'd prefer for my neck _not_ to be snapped."

"I'm with Al," Christina chimes in, "You know, for all of those repressed years in Abnegation, you sure are making up for them now. It's quite entertaining."

Reaching the front of the line, our conversation is interrupted as we all begin to fill our plates. Immediately I can feel myself start salivating at the food: roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, some kind of food I've never seen and _cake._ Grabbing a piece and putting it on my tray, I head over to our table and sit beside Will.

Part of me is tempted to eat dessert first but I want to save the best for last. We eat in relative silence, devouring our food after training today, only pausing to say something about Eric or thinking about what we could be doing tomorrow.

It's only when I move to pick up my cake that everyone looks at me. Having eaten slower than the rest of the group, I'm last to pick up dessert.

"What?" I ask, wondering why everyone is looking at me so intently.

"Okay," Will says, waving his fork at me, "I know that you've been unfortunately deprived of food in Abnegation but _this _is something none of us have had. If we all think that this is probably the best dessert we've ever had, I can't _wait_ to see what you think."

Rolling my eyes, I pick up my piece and get a bite on my fork. I've heard about the cake from Tobias so I'll know it'll be good but I can't help but see the humor in everyone watching me eat.

_Oh my God, _is all I can think as I let out an appreciative moan after I take my first bite. So rich, so chocolaty and it melts on my tongue. Now I know what all the fuss is about. _Damn. _

I don't say another word to anyone as I quickly finish my cake. After everyone smirks at my enthusiastic reaction, they go back to devouring their own, the conversation coming to a halt.

Throwing our plates away, Christina comes up between Will and I.

"Anyone want to go to the Pit? I know we all need to get a few things." She says, looking back and forth between Al, Will and myself.

"After you," Will smiles.

**Tobias **

Glancing at the screens in front of me, I run through the events of today and how each initiate did on the first day. Clearly Myra just came for Edward; I already know she won't make it far into initiation. She just doesn't have enough drive or coordination. If Al would get over his hesitancy and his self-profession that he can't do it he _might_ do better, but that's a big might. He's too kind. I wonder why he transferred in the first place.

Then there are the boys who were naturals: Peter, Edward and Drew. They have the brutality that the leaders like but I feel like they'll use violence for sport rather than sticking to the credo. They'll no doubt be Eric's minions, especially Peter.

Everyone else is doing well but Tris is by far the best out of the girls. Rubbing my hands over my eyes, I try to think over just what the hell was up with me today. Having been so used to touching her while we've worked in the past, I automatically did that today. But it was different. And rather than being smart and pulling back, I wanted to _keep_ touching her. So I did.

I felt almost magnetically attracted to her and for a brief moment, I let my instructor façade slip, something I've never even done with her. I need to man up. I know I've had a small crush on her since I was sixteen but maybe I like her a little _more _than –

Behind me, the door to the Control Room suddenly bursts open and in walks Eric, clearly on a mission.

"Four."

"Eric," I acknowledge, turning back to the screens. Max probably sent him to ask me to be a leader again. I've said no enough.

"If you're here for Max again feel free to leave," I say, scanning the cameras in front of me.

"Cut the shit; he knows you're not interested anymore. I have something I need you to do."

"And what would that be?" I ask, already bored. Knowing Eric, it's probably something having to do with another faction's computers and security systems. As I'm the only one who can handle them, I always have to go.

"I need you to keep an eye on someone." He says elusively.

"Who?" I ask, wanting him to cut to the chase.

"The Stiff," he says. _That_ got my attention. Still, I feign boredom, not turning in my chair. Only now he has my full attention.

"Why would I do that?" I ask, entering a command into one of the computers.

"Come on Four, how can you not see it?" He laughs as I turn to face him. "I think she's Divergent."

Keeping my face void of any emotion, I run through what she could have done. Yes, there was that one outburst with Eric but I didn't think that was enough to make him suspect her of anything. His face shows triumph, like he's already figured it out. He's that confident. He just needs me to prove it which means she'll be monitored in section 2. Grabbing one of the spare chairs, Eric sits down.

"I looked up her aptitude test results today," he explains. For the first time, I'm worried. I can only hope that she had someone who would help her, rather than reporting her real results if she was actually Divergent. _You know she is, Tobias. _

"And?" I ask. I want him to tell me.

"She got Abnegation."

"And that makes you think she's Divergent?" I ask. That's what my result was. No one ever questioned me.

"No. The fact that it was _manually_ reported does." _Shit._ "Apparently the serum made her sick and she went home early. I don't believe it. I want you to monitor her more closely, _especially_ in phase two. You know why we need to know."

"Did it ever occur to you that they might have given her _too much_ serum? You see how tiny she is. There's a good chance that she had too much and it upset her system. It happens all the time with the Peace Serum in Amity; they don't take a person's size into account."

I'm trying to wrap my mind around what he said, wanting to place a seed of doubt in his mind so he won't look too closely. With his dense skull, it might work. Rubbing his finger over his jaw, he subtly nods.

"You _might_ be right," he says, standing back up, "but still, monitor her."

Not saying a word, I nod my head as he heads to the door. It clicks behind him as he leaves and I turn back to face the screens. If she really is Divergent, I want to know. I _need _to know. If anything, I need to warn her to be careful in the simulations. Knowing her, she'll underestimate how dangerous being Divergent is and what could happen now that she's already being watched.

_It's only the first day._ It would be Tris that they would start watching on the first day. I don't know exactly how I'll warn her, but I know it'll start by finding out her actual aptitude test results.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! So I wanted to quickly address a couple questions that I received both in Reviews and in PM. I haven't really decided if this is a no war story or not. I've been playing around with the idea of ending it right before the war began and doing another story that takes place during the war but I'm not entirely sure yet. **

**As for Al, I don't really want to kill him off but I'm looking into a couple of alternatives. I already know that there won't be any romantic interest between he and Tris but I want them to still be good friends. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the next chapter! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Divergent. **

The trip to the Pit was extremely helpful. By navigating around, we all learned the general location of everything from restaurants to clothing stores to gun shops. Not to mention we successfully navigated the winding pathways, a feat that was most definitely challenging in the beginning.

As we turn the hallway heading back to the dormitory, Al and I can't help but notice the subtle flirting going on between Christina and Will. Looking at each other, we roll our eyes but outside of the coy smiles and Will elbowing her side, there is little conversation. All of us are feeling tired after working today.

Walking back into the dormitory, Christina grabs her things to get a shower, hurrying out of the room while Al and Will plop down on their bunks. Wanting a few minutes to myself before going to bed, I decide to grab some water and take a walk to think.

Picking up my new canteen, I head down to the end of the hall to the water fountain that's right under one of the lights in the dimly lit hallway. As I'm filling it, I start to think about today, trying to sort through my feelings about Tobias. While I boiled it down to our lack of face-to-face contact over the last two years this morning, I know I'm being ridiculous. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't attracted to him. But that's what freaks me out.

Having been lost in my own thoughts, I'm startled by a figure slowly coming out of the shadows and I jump.

"So I _can _still scare you," Tobias smirks. "That's good to know," he says, leaning up against the wall beside the fountain.

Shaking my head, I look down to finish filling my water bottle. Screwing on the lid, I ask him the first thing that comes to my mind, "So is Eric going to watch us every day? I don't exactly appreciate being yelled at and I know everyone else hates it."

Looking up at him, I see his eyes trained on a spot on the wall behind us, his expression filled with worry and apprehension.

"We need to talk, but not here. Follow me." He is all he says as he returns his determined gaze to me, turning on his heel and beckoning me to follow him. After all these years, I don't question him. Personally, I prefer to talk to him in private anyway. Still, something in his tone is different, more determined and a little more urgent.

Just like the night I arrived, the walk is quiet and I find myself at Tobias' apartment. Only this time, I can feel tension radiating off of his body. I'm not sure what for, but a part of me is worried that I have something to do with it.

After he unlocks the door, I enter before him, taking in the room. Unlike last time, there is a spare t-shirt hanging off of the back of a chair and his bed isn't quite made, his dishes from breakfast still in the sink.

Turning back around, I watch as Tobias locks his door and beckons for me to take a seat on the couch as he sits in a side chair. Placing his elbows on his knees, he runs his hands over his face and takes a deep breath, steeling himself.

Sitting back up and looking me straight in the eyes, he says, "I need you to be honest with me, completely honest." _What?_

"Okay," I realize I sound hesitant as I say it but I honestly have no clue where he's going with this.

"Do you trust me?" What kind of question is that? He should know I trust him.

"Of course I trust you," I murmur, shocked that he would ask me that.

"Good," he says, taking his thumb and smoothing out my eyebrows that have creased together. He knows I'm worried about the suddenly serious conversation. Taking a long, deep breath, he speaks.

"I need to know your aptitude test results." _What? Why? _For the first time in well, ever, I freeze up and I'm unsure of where this is going. Of all the questions for him to ask me, why would he ask me that?

"Abnegation," I answer automatically.

Looking at him, I watch as his face darkens and he shakes his head, sighing.

"No. I need to know your _real_ test results. Not the one that was manually recorded. I can't do anything, unless you tell me." Can't do anything? What is he talking about?

Nodding my head, I close my eyes. "My test results were Abnegation, Dauntless…and Erudite," I whisper, suddenly paranoid that someone is listening and will know I'm Divergent. You never know.

Opening my eyes, I see that all the color has drained from his face. His eyes are wide and I can tell that he's completely shocked, worried and scared.

"Three? _Three?_ Jesus Christ! Tris, that's completely unheard of! Do you have any idea how dangerous that is here if you can't conceal it? Let alone having an aptitude for three factions!" He whispers.

Rising from his seat he begins to pace in front of me, raking his fingers through his hair. If there's one thing I know, it's that when Tobias paces, he's processing something big, or something that seriously bothers him. Meanwhile, I'm just trying to process his reaction.

"I don't understand what exactly the deal is here. No one knows about it except for you and Tori and I don't plan on telling anyone." I say, rising from the couch, following him with my eyes as he paces in front of me.

"That doesn't matter. They'll find out anyway, _especially _since you had an aptitude for three factions." Now he sounds worried and puzzled as he runs his hands over his face, still pacing.

"Well I know I have to conceal it. I haven't –"

"They're already watching you!" he whispers, warning me as he walks back towards me until he's right in front of me, trying to convey the seriousness of it through wide, determined and scared eyes.

"What? How? And how do you know that my result was manually recorded?" I ask incredulously. I force myself to stop asking questions as they try to run in a continuous stream out of my mouth. One thing at a time.

Sighing, he pulls me back down on the couch and sits on the coffee table in front of me, his legs on either side of mine.

"After training, I worked a quick shift in the control room. At about eight, Eric walked in, wanting to talk to me. At first I just thought that he was there for Max or to send me on a mission to one of the control rooms in another faction. I was surprised when he told me he wanted me to watch someone."

"So you assumed he meant me?" I interject, trying to get an idea where this is going.

Tobias shoots me a reproachful look, shaking his head. "No. On occasion, there's always someone being watched in case they were Divergent; I was just puzzled as to why he was asking me to do it this time."

Pausing, he sighs, trying to frame his words, and I take a swig of my water.

"Go on," I say in encouragement.

"When he asked me to watch you I was shocked. The only thing that I could think of that would make him want to watch you was your retort back at him. He's not used to that. No one ever challenges him and he makes brutality a game. He told me that he looked up your results. Luckily, I think I made him believe that it could have actually made you sick because of your size."

He pauses again, his brows knitting together, like he's trying to figure out a puzzle.

"Then I got thinking about everything that's been coming out between Erudite and Abnegation lately. The reports have been saying that the highest number of Divergent live in Abnegation and I know that Jeanine wants to eradicate them. He must believe that you're one of them. We just need to figure out how to make sure he doesn't find out."

"How would he find out? You sound so sure that there's a high possibility," I whisper, trying to run through different possibilities and coming up blank.

Rubbing the back of his neck he responds, "Remember how I told you that phase two is mental?" I nod, not saying a word.

"In that phase, you are put through some of your worst fears but, unlike phase three, you are not aware that it's a simulation. Well, you aren't _supposed_ to be aware. That will be when he's watching you. Being Divergent, you can manipulate the simulation because you are aware, just like you were in the aptitude test."

I nod, lost in thought and, frankly, a little afraid that I wont be able to conceal it. "So, say, like you, I was afraid of tight spaces. By manipulating it, I would be able to punch through the wall and escape instead of getting my heart rate down or conquering it?"

"Exactly. When you go in there, don't manipulate anything. The best thing you can do is to lower your heart rate and calm down. That's what I always had to do."

Out of the blue, I'm reminded of something he said on my first night here and I smirk.

"What?"

"I just thought you weren't supposed to help me, _Four._" I smile. Although the thought of Eric keeping an eye on me is a little unnerving, I can't dwell on it too long; I need to lighten the mood. I get that it's dangerous.

I expect Tobias to smile back at me but instead he sighs, puts his hands on either side of my face and looks at me intently. That spark I felt this morning is still there.

"It was hard enough being here for two years and not seeing you. I'm not about to lose you permanently. I'd feel like it was my fault if I didn't warn you or help in some way. Okay?"

"Okay," I smile, my head still between his hands. "I still have one question though. What if I can'thide it and I manipulate the simulation. What happens then?"

Tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, he moves so his forearms are on his knees.

"I would change the data in the system so they wouldn't know or delete it altogether. There's a part of me that's confident that Eric will be sitting in on the first day of phase two, at least with you. I already know of one other person, a Dauntless born, who's Divergent but Eric is more concerned with the transfers. Just get through the first day, one step at a time."

"Okay. I think I can do that. Hopefully I wont say anything else _too_ snarky back to Eric." I smile, thinking about this morning. While I shouldn't have said that, it felt good. Really good.

At this, he smiles with me and stands up from the coffee table. "I'd hope not. I'd rather you lived through initiation. Then again, it is entertaining." As he says this he winks and pulls me up from the couch; I feel as though we are on the same page, we both want to lighten the mood of the conversation.

"Don't worry about tomorrow by the way. I have no doubt you'll be one of the better initiates," he smiles.

"I take it we're working with knives then, huh?" I smile back, putting my hands on my hips. There are so many memories that we share from the past several years as we've learned how to throw.

"Yeah. I don't think you run the risk of almost putting a hole in the wall this time though. You've gotten a lot better since then," he laughs, thinking back to the first night we worked outside of the bar we found. My hand slipped and my knife almost found a home in the wall above his desk. Then again, he had a few scares too.

"Hey! It wasn't just me that had a few mishaps. I distinctly remember that you messed up too. I'm just glad that we thought to get that thick cardboard from the sorting center," I laugh with him.

"That was a good idea, and it muffled the sound. Personally, I'm excited to see if anyone is jealous of you again tomorrow. Clearly no one thought that someone from Abnegation would stand a shot. It'll be interesting to see how everyone handles the transition to knives," he smirks.

"I agree. I'm excited to see that," I respond, glancing to my watch. I need to get back if I want a decent night's sleep. Although I don't want to go so quickly, I need to.

Glancing up at Tobias, I prepare to say goodnight and I watch as his face sobers, becoming serious again as he walks with me to his door.

"Please promise me you'll be careful," he says.

"I promise," I nod, looking straight into his eyes. He pulls me into a hug and when he pulls away he kisses me on the forehead. Every time he touches me it's like a magnetic pull and I can't help but wonder if he feels it too. I need to sort it out for myself and I want to ask him but that needs to wait for another time; it's late.

"Get some sleep," he whispers.

"Goodnight Tobias."

"Goodnight Tris."

Turning, I leave, quietly closing the door behind me and begin the walk back to the dormitory. I have a lot to wrap my mind around. The fact that Eric is already looking for signs of my Divergence isn't something that sits well with me. Clearly I need to focus on moving his attention away, but I'm not sure how to do that yet. From what Tobias said, hopefully he'll back off if I can keep from manipulating the simulations. I just hope that I'll be able to. _I have to. _

Then there are the friends that I've made here in Dauntless so far. I clearly need to do what I can to not say anything to them about both my Divergence and Tobias. Although, after initiation I feel as though both Tobias and I won't care who knows how long we've known each other. We're both tired with keeping our relationship a secret for so many years.

But what are these new feelings developing? I'm not entirely sure what's going on but there's a part of me that wants him to be _more_ than just my best friend, but can we do that? I fear that this is one sided but after his reactions to everything this evening, I may be wrong. Only time will tell. But even in the time we've spent together in the past couple of days, the feelings I'm starting to recognize are growing harder to ignore and I don't know how to handle them.

Before long, I'm walking back into the dormitory. Most of the initiates are in bed and some are already asleep. The only ones moving around are Al, Drew and Myra, all finishing getting ready for bed.

"Go for a walk?" Al asks as I come back in.

"Yeah. I just wanted to think and try to learn my way around the compound," I say, grabbing a pair of pajamas and my toothbrush.

"That's a good idea. This place is pretty confusing," he yawns as he climbs into his bunk, which just so happens to be right above my own.

I don't say anything else as I leave to get ready for bed. I'm exhausted. Not even five minutes later, I crawl into my bunk followed by Myra and Drew. For a couple of minutes it's quiet as I listen to everyone's slow breathing as everyone falls off to sleep.

Then I hear it. Al. Clearly he thinks that everyone has gone off to sleep as he cries into his pillow. Thinking back to this morning, I know I was right. He's way too nice for Dauntless, too caring. I can't help but wonder if he regrets choosing Dauntless. Poor guy.

The sound of Al's ragged breathing is what lulls me off to sleep as I think about my conversation with Tobias. _One day at a time._


End file.
